Zapped
by CelandineGranger
Summary: When the turtles are hit with a mysterious blue substance, an unexpected transformation occurs. Can they deal with the consequences of this change? Is it permanent? Do they, maybe, want it to be?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The lights of the city shone brightly beneath them as the turtles leaped from rooftop to rooftop, cutting through the darkness with great speed and agility. Car horns beeped, people shouted, and somewhere in the distance music was playing, but high above the streets, somehow removed from it all, the four brothers traversed a world of their own, in silence.

Suddenly the leader stopped at the very edge of a building and his brothers came up short behind him a second later. Together they stared down at the building across the street – an ancient brick structure, long since abandoned, which appeared to have once been used as a garage for large vehicles; an old fire station, perhaps. The building was completely dark and, to all appearances, completely empty. The turtles, however, knew better.

"This is the location," stated Leonardo in a low voice.

"Then what are we waitin' for?" asked Raphael, beside him. "Let's get down there and crush some Kraang!" Twirling his sais impatiently, Raph hadn't even bothered to keep his voice down.

Leo sighed. "This is a stealth mission, Raph. We are here to discover what sort of 'experiment' the Kraang are up to."

"Why?" growled Raph. "If we go in there and destroy all the Kraang, I'd say that will ruin their experiment!"

"Because, doofus, we have no idea what they're up to," interjected Donatello. "Whatever they're doing in that garage down there might be only one small part of an intricate plan. We have to find out what it is in order to stop them."

Leonardo noticed his brother sounded tired as he gave Raph a much less detailed explanation than he was accustomed to. It had been late last night that the Kraang communication orb in Donnie's lab had started beeping and blinking with red dots. Full of excitement, the genius turtle had set instantly to work deciphering the message. Finally, at about eight o'clock this morning, his brothers had heard a shout of "Eureka!" coming from the lab, and Donnie had emerged, coffee in hand, with the triumphant announcement that he had cracked the code. The Kraang, he had informed them, were planning to conduct a new experiment that night, at the address the turtles were currently surveying. Watching his younger brother stifle a yawn, Leo realized that Donnie had never gone to bed last night and wondered if all the coffee he had drunk would see him through their mission tonight. He was about to inquire how his brother was feeling, when his thoughts were interrupted by Michelangelo's voice.

"Dudes! We got company!" He was pointing, with an eager look on his face, toward a row of white vans that were pulling in behind the garage. The turtles recognized the Kraang's vehicles instantly.

"Alright, guys," Leo said, tensing for action, "follow me. And remember," he glanced back at Raph, " _stealthily!_ "

Raph rolled his eyes, but nodded at Leo. Within a few seconds the four ninjas were on the roof of the garage, prying open a dirty skylight. Without a sound they dropped inside, landing on an old wooden rafter.

From their vantage point, the turtles could see the whole inside of the building. Barely any of the city's illumination filtered in through the grime on the windows, leaving most of the room shrouded in shadow. A thick layer of dust covered the ground. There was nothing else to see save a few old wooden crates and boxes stacked haphazardly about, left there years ago, their contents forgotten. Several Kraang droids, holding laser guns, moved about the dusty floor, aimlessly, it seemed, as though they were bored, or perhaps waiting for something.

"For a Kraang headquarters, it sure isn't very Kraangy," commented Raph, thankfully in a very low voice this time.

Leo had to agree with him. Where was the supposed 'experiment' the Kraang were working on? He had expected to find a portal, or a high-tech weapon, or at the very least some mutagen or something, but this empty, abandoned building seemed more befitting the Purple Dragons than the Kraang. If it weren't for the robots meandering around below them, he would have thought they had come to the wrong place.

He glanced at Mikey and Donnie. His youngest brother was bouncing slightly, grinning, and seemed to be eagerly awaiting Leo's order for action. Donnie, however, was scanning the room with the same confused expression Leo knew his own face must bear. His purple banded brother glanced at him and shrugged, apparently unable to offer an explanation for the apparent lack of Kraang technology.

"OK, guys," Leo whispered, "here's the plan - " Before he could finish, however, there was an ominous crack as the rotted beam they were crouching on suddenly decided it could no longer bear their weight and chose instead to come crashing down directly in front of three Kraang bots. Reacting instantly, the four turtles landed deftly on their feet, their weapons already drawn.

"Alright, Leo!" cried Raph with a grin. "I like this plan!" A few seconds later the three robots lay crumpled at his feet, the squealing brains inside scuttling away like scared spiders.

The next instant the room was filled with laser fire as the rest of the Kraang became alerted to the turtles' presence. The four brothers dodged this way and that, avoiding the lasers and taking down all the droids they came into contact with.

Leonardo kept an eye on his brothers at all times, being constantly aware of what each was doing, and any potential danger they might be in. Out of the corner of one eye, he saw Mikey back-flipping over two Kraang at a time with a shout of "Booyakasha!" He caught them both in mid-air with his twirling nunchakus and landed in time to stick his tongue out at the brains popping out of their broken bodies.

Leo sliced a droid in half with his katana, while at the same time watching Raph stab his sais into three bots in succession, seemingly without effort. Glancing a bit further away, Leo saw that Donnie had just felled a Kraang droid with his bo, and was now looking intently into a far corner of the huge room, apparently listening. Leo did not have time to discover what he was listening to, however, for he suddenly had four Kraang on him all at once, and became, understandably, distracted.

In fact, Donatello was listening to the conversation of two of the Kraang, who seemed to be somewhat in charge. Having separated himself from his brothers during the fight, he was no longer in the middle of the fray and managed a spare moment to sneak closer in order to hear what they were saying.

"Kraang was correct in the knowledge that the ones known as the turtles would come to this place."

"Affirmative, Kraang. The ones known as the turtles are now in this place, so the time known as now would be a good time to be beginning the experiment known as Experiment Five in this place."

Donnie's brown eyes went wide. ' _What?_ ' he thought. ' _They were expecting us?_ ' He immediately began rushing back toward his brothers, taking out two Kraang on the way. All weariness had left his body. Nothing caused an adrenaline rush like fighting alien robots!

"Leo!" he shouted. "Leo, I think this is a trap!"

Leonardo looked up from the decapitated droid at his feet. "What? What makes you say that?"

Donnie very quickly repeated to his brothers what he had overheard. Leo immediately began making a plan. Since they could no longer reach the skylight they had entered by, the only other means of escape were through the two doors – one at the back and one at the front of the building. Before he could call a retreat, however, both exits were suddenly blocked by several more Kraang entering through the doors. These newcomers were toting different guns – sleek, black guns with small, glowing blue canisters perched on top of them.

"Uh, what's the plan, Chief?" asked Raph cheerfully. He was in his element and didn't seem at all phased by the appearance of the new weapons.

"Take these guys down, and then retreat through that exit," Leo explained simply, indicating the door in the front of the building. The other three nodded their approval, and Raph immediately began charging at a group of the bots holding the strange guns. A couple of them fired their weapons at him, but the agile turtle dodged the projectiles with ease and the bullets struck the wall instead, near where Mikey was standing. Rather than glancing off the bricks, however, the ammunition hit the wall with a small splat. Mikey turned to look in wonder at the three glowing, blue splotches of thick liquid that now began to drip down the wall.

"Whoa, dudes!" he shouted excitedly. "The Kraang are using paint ball guns now! This is awesome!" He reached out a green finger to touch the glob of shiny 'paint', but Donatello was there in an instant and batted his hand away.

"Don't touch that!" he cried. "It's not a paint ball!"

"Donnie, what is that stuff?" cried Leo as he dodged more of the strange projectiles aimed at him.

"I don't know yet," Donnie called back as he pulled a phial out of his belt. "Let me get a sample of it and I can take it back to my lab and analyze it."

"OK, but hurry up!" Leo was moving quickly, trying to reach the Kraang while avoiding being hit by the glowing 'paint balls'. Raph had already taken down one of the new droids, and had disarmed a second, but Leo could see that the others, who had come in by the back door, were fast approaching, and Raph didn't see them. He desperately tried to reach his brother, but there were just so many robots, and they were shooting furiously at him. It was all he could do to avoid being shot.

Donnie slapped Mikey's curious hand away again as he scooped up the mysterious substance into his phial, corked it, and replaced it in his belt.

"Come on," he said to Mikey as he twirled his bo staff, "let's go help Leo and Raph!"

The two joined the fray just in time to hear Leo call out, "Raph! Look out!"

Raph turned his head to discover the source of his danger, but was not quick enough to move aside before a small, glowing sphere struck him on the back of his shell with a splat. The other three looked on in horror as they saw the small spot of glowing ooze on Raph's back, but they were very quickly surprised to discover that Raph barely reacted to the shot at all. He looked at it with some surprise, and then turned and went back to fighting the Kraang droid he was currently engaged with. The new weapon didn't seem to have hurt him at all!

Despite this rather encouraging development, the other three did not let their guard down, but continued to avoid the bullets as they fought their way toward the front door. They were nearly there when one Kraang droid managed to trip Mikey up and in an instant it had shot out its metal hand and pinned him to the floor by his neck.

Donnie, who was closest, gave a cry and rushed to his aid. Before the robot had decided what to do with Mikey, now it had him pinned, Donnie had cracked it over the head with a furious swing from his bo, and sent it crumpling to the floor. As he reached a hand down to help Mikey up, however, Donnie had momentarily taken his attention off dodging the glowing pellets, and one suddenly struck him on the arm.

He cried out, more from surprise than pain, for indeed, it hadn't hurt him in the slightest. It simply felt cold and wet. He tried to brush the substance off his skin, but found it had already soaked in, leaving a glowing blue mark that couldn't be rubbed away. He frowned at it curiously, but was soon distracted again, for the fight was still in full swing.

Mikey had managed to get to his feet on his own and jumped full force toward a group of Kraang droids. He twirled his nunchakus expertly as he leaped, ready to bring them down with deadly accuracy on his foes as he landed. He let out his battle cry in mid-air, but he didn't get farther than "Booya-" before it was cut short by a large splat directly in his face. He landed forcefully on the offending Kraang droids, taking them down as he stomped about, clutching his face and crying out, "Aaargh! My face! They got my face! Ack! It's in my mouth! Blech! Bleaaach!" He spat several times, trying to rid his tongue of the horrible taste.

A few yards away, Leo, while fighting a few Kraang of his own, was watching his youngest brother's antics with concern. The freckled ninja's nose and mouth were now glowing blue, and though no ill effects had as yet been seen, still Leo was sure that whatever the Kraang were shooting at them could not be a good thing. They had to get out of here! He sliced another robot in two, ignoring the squelchy sound of the brain as it crawled away. Looking up, Leo noticed that Raph, with help from Donnie, had managed to clear away all the droids near the front door. Their retreat was open! He signaled to the two by the door and they immediately headed for the exit, while Leo ran to help Mikey, who was still dancing about with his hands over his face.

"Mikey, come on! We're leaving!" Leo shouted as he grabbed his little brother's arm.

Mikey pulled his hands away from his glowing mouth and pointed to it. "Dude, look! They got my face!"

"I know, I know!" Leo cried impatiently. "Donnie can fix it in his lab. Let's get out of here!" At that moment, Leo felt a cold splash on the back of his leg and looked down to see a blue splatter over his green skin.

"Oh no, they got you, too!" cried Mikey in a panic, pointing to Leo's leg.

Leo wasted no more time, but pulling Mikey's arm, he practically dragged him to the exit. He just had time to notice that the Kraang were no longer shooting at them. In fact, all the robots had suddenly ceased firing and were walking toward the back exit. Not pausing to wonder about this, Leo pulled his youngest brother out the door and into an alley across the street where Raph and Donnie were waiting for them.

"Hey, are you guys OK?" Donnie greeted them.

Leo was about to answer in the affirmative when Mikey burst out, "NO! Look what they did to my face!"

Raph couldn't help snickering as he looked at the glowing blue splotches all over Mikey's mouth and nose. "Well, some might say that was an improvement," he said, earning himself a glower from Mikey.

Donnie suddenly noticed Leo's leg. "Leo, you got hit, too?"

"Yeah, just as we were leaving. Donnie, do you know what this stuff is? I mean, it doesn't seem to do anything but glow."

"I have no idea. Let's get back to the lair and I can analyze it properly."

As Raph slid the manhole cover back into place and trotted through the sewer tunnel after his brothers, he suddenly realized that the cold spot on his back where he had been hit seemed to spread. Within a few minutes the whole back of his shell felt cold and numb and he could feel the coldness sinking deeper into his body. Not being one to complain, he ignored it and continued to run through the tunnels.

A moment later, Raph heard Mikey whine, "Guys, my face has gone all tingly!"

"Yeah, and my arm's numb and cold!" added Donnie, shaking the appendage still bearing the small blue mark.

"Come on, let's hurry back to the lair!" called Leo. "We're almost there!" Raph noticed with concern that his oldest brother wasn't walking properly. He seemed to be limping on his blue-splattered leg, as if it wasn't functioning correctly.

All four of them increased their pace, panic showing clearly on Mikey's glowing face. Just as they jumped the turnstiles and landed safely in the lair, the pain struck. It hit Raph like a physical blow to his shell and he collapsed onto his hands and knees with a cry. It felt as though someone were crushing his shell and ripping it into tiny little pieces.

Donnie instantly moved toward his brother, crying out, "Raph! What's wrong?" But before he could reach him, he, too, collapsed with a scream of pain, clutching his arm.

A moment later, Raph was vaguely aware that all of his brothers were now screaming in agony, but there was nothing he could do. The pain had now shot like fire from his shell into his shoulders and down his arms, and he was paralyzed by it. He cried aloud again as it reached his hands and he felt as if his fingers were being torn apart. Now his face was burning, too, and he felt sure someone had dropped concrete blocks on his feet and crushed them.

In another part of his brain, Raph heard Mikey's agonized cry, "Aaargh! It's killing me! I'm dying! I'm dying!"

Raph couldn't bear the thought of his baby brother experiencing the same torment he was, but he was helpless to relieve him. Every inch of Raph's body was on fire, shaking with pain more excruciating than anything he had imagined. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled his body involuntarily as he thought to himself, ' _Mikey's right. We're all going to die!_ '


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter 2! Thanks to those of you who have followed and reviewed this story already! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review! Reviews make me happy and encourage me to upload chapters faster. :)**

 **Chapter 2**

A second later, the pain was gone. As suddenly as it had struck, it vanished, leaving Raphael shaking and panting on the floor. His eyes were still screwed shut, but he could hear, all around him, the gasping and panting of his brothers, so he knew the tormenting episode had ended for them, as well, yet he dared not open his eyes. He was on his hands and knees, but his body felt strange; wrong, somehow, and he feared what he would see.

Then he heard Mikey's voice again, sounding surprised and fearful. "Guys! Look at us!"

At last Raph found the courage to look. He opened his eyes and stifled a scream. He was staring at the floor, but where his hands should be – his strong, green, familiar, three-fingered hands – were someone else's entirely. What he saw was a pair of _human_ hands. Five fingers each. The skin was that weird pinkish tan color so many humans had. Gathering courage, he sat up and looked down at the rest of himself. That was human, too. Human arms, human legs, human body, devoid of his protective shell. He could feel panic rising in his chest, and it was all he could do to keep from screaming and freaking out. Breathing heavily, trying to calm down, he suddenly realized with surprise that his new body had come complete with clothes and shoes, and he wondered vaguely for a moment where the clothes could have come from, before turning his attention to more important matters.

Raph looked toward his brothers and saw three teenage human boys sitting in their places, all looking down at themselves in curiosity, just as he had been doing. The black-haired boy who had been Leo was staring down at his feet, and Raph heard him whisper, "What in the world?"

The freckle-faced boy who had replaced his baby brother was feeling his new nose and ears when he suddenly leaped to his feet and ran toward the bathroom, stumbling and tripping over the unaccustomed shape of his feet. When he reached the bathroom he must have looked in the mirror, for a triumphant shout came from that room, and Mikey came careening back to his brothers. Striking a dorky pose in front of them, the boy turned to Raph and cried happily, "Dude! Look how cute I am!" He lifted his orange mask so that Raph could perceive the full glory of his new human features.

Raphael, still trying to swallow his panic, crossed his arms and simply glared at Mikey. How could his little brother be taking this situation so lightly? He glanced over to his other two brothers, who did not seem to notice Michelangelo's antics.

Donatello was staring down at his hands. He wiggled each of his ten fingers individually, marveling at the ability. ' _How?_ ' He thought to himself. ' _This is scientifically impossible!_ ' A dozen theories as to how the Kraang could have managed to turn them human raced through his over-active brain, but none of them were satisfactory, and he continued to stare in awe at his hands.

Leonardo picked up his two katanas, which he had dropped during the painful mutation process. He frowned as his beloved weapons felt foreign in his strangely shaped hands. Before he sheathed them, the thought crossed his mind, ' _How will I explain this to Splinter?_ '

He did not have to wonder about this for long. A moment later, Splinter emerged from the dojo, having been awoken by his sons' cries of pain.

"My sons, what is going on?" he asked in a concerned voice as he descended the stairs toward them. Suddenly, he stopped short at the scene before him. There stood four teenage boys whom he had never seen before, in the middle of his family's secret lair, wearing his sons' ninja masks! Anger and confusion boiled up inside him, and he shouted at the stunned boys, "Who are you? And how did you find this place?"

The black-haired boy wearing Leonardo's blue mask approached him tentatively. "Um, Sensei, it's us!" he said, looking up at Splinter with a pleading look in his sapphire eyes.

The rat stood as if frozen. He knew those eyes. And the voice was unmistakable. "Leonardo?" he whispered, his eyes wide in disbelief. Leo gave a slight nod, relief flooding his features at his father's recognition.

Splinter then raised his eyes to the other three boys standing awkwardly before him. They all had dark brown hair, but only the tall, skinny one had brown eyes. Large, warm brown eyes, betraying the intelligence behind them. Splinter also noticed the gap between his teeth. "Donatello?"

The youth nodded and Splinter's gaze next fell on the smallest of the boys who was sporting a T-shirt with a slice of pizza printed on the front. He would know that freckle-cheeked grin and those big, baby blue eyes anywhere. "Michelangelo." It wasn't a question.

Turning to the last boy, the rat noted his muscular arms and flashing green eyes, and the way he stuck his lower lip out in that angry frown he knew so well. "Raphael."

Splinter's mind was reeling. "My sons, how? How did this happen?" He automatically turned to Donatello for an explanation.

"Well, Sensei," Donnie fidgeted. "We don't know, exactly. . ."

"The Kraang hit us with shiny paint balls!" interrupted Mikey. "They got me right in the face! At first it just glowed and stuff, but by the time we got back here, it started to hurt, like really bad, and then the next thing I knew, the glowy stuff was gone and I had this super cute human face!"

Donnie shrugged toward Mikey, consenting that this was as good an explanation as any. Splinter seemed to be pondering this information, but did not speak for a while.

"Sensei, what do you think we should do?" asked Leonardo. All four boys looked to their father, hoping for guidance and advice. Donnie lifted a hand to hide a huge yawn.

Splinter's mind was blank. An occurrence of such unprecedented strangeness had never happened in his family before, barring the single mutation incident that had brought them together in the first place. Leo's question rang in his ears. What should they do? This was not a question to be answered hastily. He needed to meditate on it. Looking at the lost and weary expressions on his sons' strange new faces, he sighed.

"My sons. It is two o'clock in the morning. I suggest we all get some sleep, and confront this problem in the morning, when we will all be thinking more clearly." With that, he turned and walked slowly back to the dojo, clearly deep in shock.

Leo had hoped for more substantial advice than this. They had suddenly found themselves in completely different bodies! How could they just go to bed like nothing had happened? Leo's mind was swimming. So many questions still had to be answered. Why did the Kraang want to turn them human? Was it permanent? How much would their lives change now?

He glanced at his brothers. Mikey looked confused and unsure. Behind his scowl, Raph's eyes betrayed his fear. He looked like he was about to have a panic attack. Donnie swayed slightly and Leo feared he would fall asleep on his feet. Suddenly, the weariness of battle, topped with exhaustion caused by the violent mutation swept over Leo, and he found himself agreeing with his father. "Sensei's right. We're all exhausted. We'll be able to figure things out better in the morning. Let's go to bed."

"Not me," said Donnie, pulling the little phial of blue ooze from his belt. "I need to analyze this and see what exactly the Kraang did to us."

"No way, Donnie," Leo said, using his no-nonsense leader voice. "You've been up for two days straight. You need sleep more than any of us. You'll never get accurate results if you're too tired to even see your microscope clearly."

Donnie started to protest, but a yawn obstructed his speech and he realized his brother was speaking sense. Giving in, he allowed himself to be led toward his bedroom. Raph and Mikey followed.

As Donnie opened his door and made his way slowly toward his inviting mattress and soft pillow, a thought crossed his weary mind.

 _April. What would April think when she found out?_ Donnie's stomach flip-flopped as a glimmer of hope presented itself. _Maybe, just maybe, now that he was human. . ._

At the door to his room, Mikey paused.

"Uh, hey, Raph!"

"What, Mikey?" Raph turned halfway through his doorway to look at his brother.

"Do humans sleep in their clothes?" he asked, gesturing down at himself.

"How should I know?" Raph answered irritably. "Figure it out for yourself." He closed the door behind him.

Mikey sighed and sat down on his bed, looking curiously down at his clothes. He liked the pizza shirt he was wearing, and he decided that most of his clothes were comfortable enough to sleep in, but the shoes felt tight and were pinching his feet. Reaching down, he tried to undo the laces, fumbling as his extra fingers kept getting in the way. Eventually he managed it and pulled the shoes off, followed by his socks. He flopped back onto his bed, wiggling his ten toes in delight.

"Why, Joey Nails," he said, "I hardly recognized you! It looks like you've made a few new friends. I'll have to come up with names for them all!" And with that happy thought, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Forgot to mention at the beginning, but this story is set about halfway through the first season, right before "The Pulverizer" so human stuff is still pretty much foreign to the turtles. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and again, please review!**

 **Chapter 3**

*beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep*

Donatello groaned and slapped his alarm clock until the incessant noise ceased. It was far too early. He needed a few more hours to catch up on his lost sleep from the night before. He was about to roll over and forget about the alarm, when he heard a too-cheerful knocking on his door.

"Donnie! Come on, time to get up!" came Leo's voice through the wooden door.

Donatello knew from experience it was pointless to resist, so he shouted, "Coming!" and rubbed his eyes. That's when he felt it. Eyelashes. Eyebrows. The bridge of a nose. And too many fingers. In a flash, the strange events of the night before flooded into his mind. How could he have forgotten? Today he was going to analyze that Kraang substance and find some answers to their strange new mutation.

Blearily, Donnie reached for a coffee cup sitting on his bedside table. He wasn't sure how many days it had been sitting there, but he glanced inside it anyway. Empty. He heaved himself into a sitting position. Before he did any researching, he would need to brew a pot of coffee. Strong coffee.

As he stood up, the concrete floor felt cold on his bare feet. He was about to open the door when he glanced down at himself and realized he had removed most of his clothes before crawling into bed the night before. Searching around the room, he located the brown shirt and shorts he had tossed on the floor, and for the first time in his life experienced the common human ritual of getting dressed in the morning. It took him a minute to figure out how to tell if the shirt was backward or not, but he decided the pocket went in the front. Lastly, he grabbed his mask and shoved it halfway onto his head, not bothering to place it properly over his eyes, before grabbing his coffee cup and heading out the door.

In the hallway he met Mikey and Raph, who had just emerged from their own rooms. Mikey had his mask hanging around his neck and looked like he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. A grumpy-looking Raph was holding Spike in one hand. The little turtle looked as sleepy as the boys felt.

Suddenly Leo appeared before them, eyes bright, and a broad smile on his face. Both his katanas were drawn, and he looked ready for anything.

"Time for some morning practice! What do you guys think?" he said cheerfully.

In response, Mikey, with his eyes still glued shut, opened his mouth wide and let out a protesting noise that sounded like, "Bleeaaaahh!"

Raph grunted his usual morning communication and Donnie mutely pointed to his empty coffee mug and then toward the kitchen, indicating that training would not be possible until he had some caffeine in his system.

"Aw, come on, guys!" Leo insisted. "We have to find out if our ninja skills are still up to par, now that we're human."

"Personally, I would rather find out _how_ we became human in the first place, and whether the change is permanent," said Donnie.

"And I'm not doing anything until I feed Spike his breakfast," added Raph.

Mikey visibly perked up at the mention of breakfast. His blue eyes popped open and, seemingly suddenly full of energy, he bounded toward the kitchen with the exclamation, "Oooh, I'll make breakfast! Who's up for omelets?"

Trying not to trip over his weird feet, Donnie followed, calling out, "Just don't put any algae and worms in it this time!"

Mikey poked his head back out through the kitchen curtain. "Why not?"

"One, because they're disgusting," Donnie said as he entered the kitchen. "And, two, humans don't eat algae and worms, so we probably shouldn't anymore." He was actually pretty sure it wouldn't do them any harm, but was grateful for any excuse to forego the revolting flavor.

Mikey, unfazed, simply said brightly, "Alrighty, then, I'll make a pizza omelet!" And he set to work cracking the eggs.

Donnie got the coffee brewing and popped a couple pieces of bread into the toaster as Raph came in and found some lettuce for Spike.

"Where's Leo?" asked Mikey as he chopped up bits of leftover pizza. Their oldest brother hadn't followed them into the kitchen.

"Went to talk to Master Splinter," mumbled Raph. Not trusting Mikey's culinary concoction, he poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"Isn't this the awesomest thing ever?" Mikey exclaimed excitedly, stirring the contents of the frying pan.

"What?" asked Raph, who was becoming less grumpy as the food reached his stomach.

"Being human, of course! I've always wondered what it was like."

"I think it's weird," grunted Raph, frowning. "I miss my old, handsome self."

Mikey snorted and Raph took a swipe at him, which his younger brother easily dodged. Years of experience taunting his brother had made him quick on his feet.

"Seriously, though, Donnie, how long do you think it will take you to find a cure?" asked Raph sincerely.

Donnie spluttered into the coffee he was drinking. "A cure?" he said, surprised. "Well, I – "

Before he could come up with an answer, however, Leo stuck his head into the kitchen. "Hey, guys, Splinter wants us all in the dojo for training."

"What? Now?" asked Donnie, incredulous. "But I need to go to my lab and analyze – "

"Now!" said Leo sternly, disappearing from view.

Mikey looked sadly at his half finished plate of eggs, then shoveled it all into his mouth in one gulp and followed his brothers quickly out of the kitchen.

Splinter stood under the tree in the dojo, surveying his four sons as they knelt on the well-worn rug in front of him, looking up at their father with a mixture of expectancy and apprehension on their faces. Taking a deep breath, Splinter attempted to quell the conflicting emotions rising within his chest at the sight of his sons – his now human sons. For more than fifteen years he had raised his boys, hidden them, protected them from the world he knew would never accept them. All those years he tried desperately, within his limited means, to give them some semblance of a normal life, despite being isolated in the sewers. It had always pained him to know that there were so many things his sons could never have. And now, here they were – normal humans. Finally an opportunity had presented itself for the world to see his boys the way only he could see them – not as freaks, but as people. People with talents, dreams, and ambitions. People with desires, interests, and so much potential. Finally, they could have so many of the things he had always wished for them, and what did he feel? If he was honest with himself, the first thing he felt was jealousy.

For fifteen years Splinter had harbored a secret desire that someday he might regain his humanity. He had shoved it down into the deep recesses of his mind, choosing instead to focus his attention on raising his boys, on giving them the best life he was capable of. Yet the desire was always there, and it had been rekindled recently when Donatello mentioned his idea to create a retro-mutagen, though as of yet, his son had not discovered how to succeed in this experiment. The idea that the turtles could obtain humanity had not once been discussed, for none of them had ever considered there to be the remotest possibility of that happening. And yet, here they were, four human boys; and here he was, still a rat.

"Uh, Sensei, are you OK?" Leonardo ventured to ask, his voice tentative and quiet.

Splinter shook himself out of his reverie and, coming back to the present, remembered that his boys were patiently waiting for his instructions. Shoving his shameful emotions deep inside, the ninja master chose to approach the situation with practicality.

"Yes, Leonardo, I am fine." Splinter cleared his throat. "Now, we have a very unusual situation to confront."

Raph snorted in a way that clearly meant, _That's an understatement!_ Splinter ignored him.

"Now, before we proceed, will you boys please give me a more thorough account of what happened last night?"

The boys glanced at each other a couple times before launching into a detailed, if rather disjointed account of their encounter with the Kraang the night before, ending with their unexpected transformation.

"Donatello, you will do your best to discover the nature of this substance and the conditions of your new mutation?" Splinter asked when they had finished their tale.

"Hai, Sensei. I plan to take it to my lab directly after training."

Splinter nodded. "And in the meantime, tell me, how do the four of you feel about your new state of being?"

Mikey answered instantly. "It's awesome! I have four new toes!" He wiggled them proudly for Splinter to see. "Wanna hear what I named them?"

Splinter chuckled at his youngest son's exuberance. "Perhaps later, Michelangelo," he said quietly.

"Well, I don't think it's awesome," interjected Raph with a frown. "This body feels all weak and vulnerable. I liked being a turtle." He folded his arms across his chest. "I just hope it doesn't take Donnie too long to find a cure."

Splinter raised an eyebrow at this, and noticed Donnie looking at Raph with a nervous expression. "And what about you, Donatello?"

Donnie fidgeted with his fingers in his lap. "I'm not really sure yet, Sensei. I'm still getting used to the idea." Splinter nodded and turned to Leonardo, who bore a confident expression.

"I'll know whether I like this new body when I test it out in the dojo," he said, looking eager to put his words into action.

"Yeah, come on, Sensei, let's get to training," said Raph.

Splinter smiled at his sons. How was it possible for them to look so strange, and yet so familiar at the same time? Though their faces were different, he could see their feelings as clearly as ever: Leonardo's desire to please his father, Raphael's thirst to prove himself, Michelangelo's eagerness for action, and Donatello's distraction. His genius son's mind was clearly already in his lab, planning his experiments.

Agreeing that their conversation was over, Splinter began running them through familiar katas, watching them closely and patiently as they tried to discover their new center of balance and tested the strength and flexibility of their new muscles. Eventually, satisfied that they were gaining confidence, the ninja master decided it was time to practice fighting, so he paired his boys up: Leo with Donnie, and Mikey with Raph. As the boys took up their fighting stances, he called out, "Hajime!"

Michelangelo pulled one of his nunchuks from his belt and began dancing around Raphael. Raph twirled his sai, but stood firmly, his bare toes digging into the rug beneath him. He would never admit it out loud, but he did not yet trust himself to move quickly without stumbling over his stupid human feet. He rather admired how quickly the nimble Michelangelo had gained mastery over his new body.

Raph took a jab as Mikey danced nearer to him, but his little brother flipped out of the way. He could hear the sounds of his other brothers sparring behind him, but he focused his attention on the fast-moving boy leaping toward him. This time he managed to land a punch on Mikey's shoulder, but his brother retaliated with a powerful kick to his nose. Raph reeled back a pace and a half, shocked by how much it had hurt. He growled in frustration, rubbing his nose. A smear of blood appeared on his hand when he pulled it away. Stupid human nose!

A few feet away, Mikey was taunting him. "Oh _yeah_! Big, bad Raphael is no match for Pinky and Stinky, Jr.!"

"What?" growled Raph, anger and annoyance rising in his chest.

"Pinky and Stinky, Jr.! Those are the names of two of my new toes!" Mikey held up his foot triumphantly in Raph's face. "Pinky because, well, it's kind of pink, and Stinky, Jr. because – "

"I get it!" Raph couldn't believe he was having this stupid conversation. Roaring in frustration, he charged at Mikey, whose taunting expression turned instantly to one of fear and concentration as he prepared for the assault. Several blows were exchanged before Raph decided to pull out the move that usually brought Mikey down. After dodging an uppercut Mikey had intended to plant on his chin, Raph spun around so that his back was toward his brother, and quick as a flash, swung his right arm back, striking Mikey hard in the chest with the handle of his sai.

As expected, Mikey collapsed to the floor with a grunt. Raph stood over him triumphantly, and was about to gloat about beating Mikey's toes after all, when he noticed Mikey wasn't getting back to his feet as he usually did. He was still crumpled on the floor, clutching his chest and whimpering.

Raph's green eyes suddenly filled with concern. "Mikey, are you OK?" he asked, crouching beside his brother.

From across the room, he heard his father call, "Yame!", putting an end to the fight his other brothers were still engaged in, and an instant later they were all surrounding Mikey, whom Raph had helped into a sitting position against the wall. He was hugging himself with a pained expression on his face.

"What happened?" asked Donnie, rushing to inspect his little brother.

"I – I don't know!" cried Raph. "I just hit him in the chest with the handle of my sai, like I always do. I didn't think I hit him _that_ hard!"

"Dude!" cried Mikey, groaning. "You forgot, I don't have have a shell anymore!"

Of course! Raph could smack himself for not thinking of that. Without the hard layer of plastron covering his chest, there was nothing but skin and a bit of muscle protecting Mikey's ribs. Raph growled again. Stupid human bodies! Stupid soft, weak, fragile, human bodies! Seriously, how did humans manage to survive?

Donnie had now lifted Mikey's T-shirt and was inspecting the tender spot on his ribs where the reddened skin was already turning a blotchy purple. Gently he pressed his fingers to the place and felt the ribs. Mikey winced, and Raph could see tears in his eyes, threatening to fall, but he did not cry out.

Satisfied, Donnie pulled the shirt back down. "Don't worry, Mikey, nothing's broken. You're going to have a nasty bruise there for a while, but get an ice pack to keep the swelling down and you should be fine."

Mikey nodded gratefully and Raph reached down a hand to help him up. "Come on, little bro, let's get you some ice," he said, leading Mikey to the kitchen. Mikey gave him a smile. He knew that was the closest thing he would get to an apology from Raph, and he was OK with that.

Splinter called an end to training, and Donnie practically flew into his lab, eager to begin his experiments. His mind had been on nothing else all morning. Finally, he was going to get some answers!

Leo moved slowly into the main room of the lair, leaped into the pit and settled himself among the cushions on the bench. Out of habit, he picked up the remote, but did not turn the TV on. He had so much on his mind at the moment that not even Space Heroes could grab his interest.

Their training session had been eye-opening for Leo. He had quickly realized that, while his muscles remembered the moves he had been taught, his new body was neither as strong, nor as fast as his old one. This had been rather disheartening as he had tried to compensate for it during his fight with Donatello, but Leo had decided to take it as a challenge. He would have to train harder, push his body to its limits, to really discover what he was capable of.

And then there was the incident with Michelangelo. The loss of their protective shells would necessitate a change their defensive fighting style. Human bodies just bruised too easily. Leo decided he would have to work extra hard from now on, for if the four of them ever encountered the Foot, or the Kraang, or even the Purple Dragons, in their current form, it would be too easy to forget their new vulnerability. He had to do all he could to keep his younger brothers from harm.

Leo's thoughts were interrupted by a tingling sensation in the fingers of his left hand. Within seconds the numbness had spread up his arm like pins and needles. Surprised, he tried to move his arm, but to his alarm, found he couldn't. His whole arm had gone completely dead. He reached his right hand over to feel it, but before he could, his left arm suddenly twitched violently, and the feeling returned. He flexed it, and wriggled his fingers. Everything felt normal, but he continued to stare at it, concerned about the cause of such a strange incident.

Leo glanced up at the half open doorway to Donnie's lab. He would ask his brother about it. He stood up and moved toward the lab, completely confident the genius would have answers for him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Donatello peered eagerly into his microscope. The small speck of blue ooze on the slide shone brightly before his eyes, revealing its secrets to him, one by one. He picked up a pencil to jot down some notes in his notebook, but found the task unexpectedly difficult. He wasn't aware of the complicated finger position required for writing. At last he figured out a method that worked and then pressed his eye once more the microscope's lens.

"Hey, Donnie, can I come in?" came Leo's voice from the doorway. Donnie looked up and saw his brother poking his head through the half-open door. It was still so strange to hear that familiar voice speaking, and then to look up and see such an unfamiliar face in his brother's place. Donnie beckoned him over.

"Have you discovered anything yet?" Leo asked as he approached the desk. His blue eyes held a mixture of concern and anticipation. Donnie smiled a little to himself. At least those eyes were the same, reminding him that his big brother was still there, still concerned for all of them, even if he looked different.

"I'm working on it," Donnie answered, turning his gaze back to the shiny blue substance magnified before him.

Leo waited patiently as Donnie wrote a few more notes, then caught his attention once more. "Uh, Donnie," he said uncertainly. "Something happened to me a few minutes ago that I wanted to ask you about."

Donnie looked up, curious, and Leo related the details of the strange numbness that had come over his arm a few moments before. Donnie listened intently, nodding.

"Yeah, something similar happened to me as well," he answered unexpectedly. "I think it's a sign that our mutation might not be entirely stable. Here." He handed Leo a Q-tip, and began searching around on his desk.

Leo raised an eyebrow and stared in confusion at the cotton swab in his hand. "Um, Donnie. . ." he began, but Donnie, who had located the glass slide he had been searching for, interrupted him.

"I just need a sample of your DNA. I've been analyzing mine and comparing it to the data I had collected regarding our previous mutated form, but my results will be more accurate if I use samples from more than one specimen." He stopped talking as he realized Leo was still just standing there, holding the Q-tip. "I need your spit, Leo," he clarified. "Just swab the inside of your mouth."

Leo obeyed and handed the DNA laden swab back to his brother, who swiped some of it on the glass slide, and then took the Q-tip to the other side of the lab where he searched among his glass bottles for a moment before beginning a complicated chemical process Leo didn't understand.

When Donnie came back to the desk to input some data on his computer, Leo ventured to ask, "What did you mean exactly, when you said our mutation might not be entirely stable?"

"I'll have some answers for you soon," Donnie answered without looking at Leo. He moved quickly to another part of his desk and stuck his tongue out in concentration as he carefully let a single drop fall from an eyedropper he was holding into a petrie dish.

At that moment, the door burst open and Mikey came sauntering into the room, holding an ice pack to his ribs, but smiling nonetheless. He plopped down in a swivel chair and spun around a few times before leaning his elbows on the desk across from Donnie, resting his chin in his hands. The ice pack fell, forgotten, to the floor.

"Watcha doin', Donnie?"

Donatello did not remove his concentration from the experiment before him, so Leo answered for him. "Donnie's doing some experiments with our DNA and that weird blue Kraang stuff, to try and find out what exactly happened to us."

"Why?" asked Mikey. "We know what happened. That Blue Goo turned us human."

"Right," answered Leo slowly, "but we need to know why, and how, and whether it's permanent. And we also need to know why the Kraang are experimenting with such weapons. Why would they want to create something that turned mutants into humans? It seems like the opposite of their usual plans."

"I'm not entirely sure that's what this ooze does," responded Donnie, who had apparently been listening after all, from behind his computer screen.

"What do you mean?" asked Mikey. "That's exactly what it did."

"To us, yes," said Donnie, taking his eyes off the data on the screen for a moment, "but maybe not to everyone. I have to do more research to find out for sure." With that, he gave his attention wholly back to his work.

Mikey, already bored, spun around in his chair a few more times, coming precariously close to the illuminated pools of algae behind him. Leo watched Donnie's progress for a few minutes, then turned to his orange-banded brother, who was continuing to make himself dizzy.

"Hey, Mikey, where's Raph?"

"He went to take a shower," answered Mikey, giving the chair an extra fast spin and promptly tumbling off it to the floor, where he lay on his back, arms spread wide, staring at the ceiling. "Dude! The whole room is spinning! It's like being on a space ship!"

"Huh, interesting," said Donnie suddenly, gazing at something under his microscope.

"What's interesting?" asked Mikey, sitting up and putting a hand to his head as if to stop it from spinning. "Being dizzy?"

"No! The results I'm getting from our DNA and this Kraang. . . stuff."

"Blue Goo, bro," stated Mikey from the floor.

"What?"

"Blue Goo. It's what I named the shiny paint ball stuff. Because, well, it's goo, and it's blue, so I thought – "

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," said Donnie impatiently, waving his hand to brush aside the irrelevant comments. "The point is, I think I found a few answers."

Leo leaned on the desk, looking more closely at Donnie's experiments, as if expecting to suddenly comprehend them. "What did you find out?"

"Well," began his brainy brother excitedly, "I analyzed the sample of your DNA and deciphered . . ." and here Donatello launched into a very detailed scientific explanation of exactly how he had performed the experiments, and what precisely he had discovered, using vocabulary far beyond Leo's understanding.

Leo smiled. He knew Raph found Donnie's long-winded descriptions annoying, and that Mikey often made fun of him or just completely tuned him out, but Leo couldn't help but find Donnie's extreme nerdiness rather endearing. He waited patiently while his genius brother enthusiastically showed him some advanced calculations he had made in his notebook and explained with relish some of the primary facts. When he finally wound down, Leo smiled at him and said gently, "That's great Donnie! Now, could you tell me again what all that means, but in language that Mikey could understand?"

Donnie frowned in slight exasperation, and addressing both his brothers, he said, "It means, that the synthesized mutagen wasn't potent enough to mutate us permanently. It is possible that by administering a second dose, followed, perhaps by subsequent doses, we could maintain the mutation, but unless we do, we will eventually revert back to our usual forms."

Leo pondered this information, but Mikey's face still looked blank. "That was supposed to be language I could understand?"

Donnie face-palmed and said loudly, in a vexed tone, "The Blue Goo wasn't strong enough to keep us human. If we don't get more, we will turn back into turtles!"

Mikey looked unhappy to receive this news. "Aw, no, I like being human. Wait, if we change back, will hurt as much as last time?" he asked fearfully.

"I don't know for sure," said Donnie grimly, "but probably."

"Aaaah, no! I don't want to do that again! Never, never again!" Mikey's eyes were wide as he leaped speedily off the floor and ran to Leo, clutching his arm. "Don't let me change back, Leo, please!"

Leo peeled his brother's hands off his arm, but he didn't like seeing Mikey so afraid. "We'll see, Mikey. You know I would do anything to keep you from being hurt, but I can't promise anything yet. We still have a lot to figure out."

Mikey nodded and let go of Leo. His eyes still bore a trace of fear, but he trusted his big brother.

"Donnie," Leo turned to his purple-banded brother, "How long do we have before we change back?"

"It's hard to say, but my guess would be a few days, at the most."

Leo tapped his finger on his chin as he thought. "So, if we get a hold of more of this Blue Goo, we can decide to remain human if we want. And we would have to make that decision within the next couple days."

"Yeah, that's how I figure it," responded Donnie.

"Raph'll never go for it," said Mikey despondently. "He hates being human. He's the one who kept asking Donnie for a cure."

"We'll have to sit down and have a serious discussion about it," said Leo, "but nothing needs to be decided just yet. However, no matter what we choose, we still have to figure out what the Kraang's plan is and put a stop to it. They didn't create this Goo just to turn the four of us human. Something bigger is going on here, and we need to find out what it is. Tonight, we'll go back to that old garage and see if we can find any answers."

At that moment, Raph came into the lab, drying his hair with a towel.

"Hey, Raph!" greeted Mikey cheerfully. "Watcha doin'?"

"My stupid hair won't dry!" he answered in frustration. "It keeps dripping in my eyes!" He rubbed the towel vigorously over his head before tossing it onto a chair.

"Hahaha!" Mikey pointed at Raph's head. "Your hair's sticking up in all sorts of crazy directions now!"

Raph glared at Mikey. "So?" he said angrily. He put a hand up to feel it, though, and then turning to Leo, he asked sincerely, "Does it really look funny?"

Leo chuckled. "Yeah, it kinda does."

Growling, Raph attempted to flatten his hair with his hands, but to no avail. "How do you get this stuff to lay straight?"

"I think you need a comb for that," said Donnie from behind his desk.

"Well, where am I gonna get a stupid comb? We don't exactly have that kind of human stuff lying around the lair."

"Maybe you could borrow one from April," said Leo with a playful smile.

"Or," said Mikey, slowly and dramatically, "We could _buy_ one!"

There was a moment's silence while the other three stared at Mikey.

"You mean, go topside?" asked Donnie. "In the day time?"

"And go into an actual store?" added Leo. "While it's open?"

"And buy something new?" Raph put in. "With money?"

There was another silence while the former turtles were suddenly struck with the realization of all the freedoms that were now available to them.

Mikey grinned at his brothers. "Yeah," he said quietly, "That's exactly what I mean!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Leo excitedly, "Let's go!"

Donnie glanced back at his desk, torn by two desires. "But my experiments – "

" – Can wait!" exclaimed Mikey, grabbing Donnie's arm. "Come on, we have some serious human stuff to do!"

The four brothers raced each other out of the lab, all eager for experiences they had only ever been able to wonder about.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

On the other side of town, in a hidden facility, two Kraang droids met and conversed together amid the blinking lights, glowing screens, and reflective metal surfaces of their lab. The bleeping, clinking noises of activity were all around them as scores of Kraang went about their duties, performing various tasks for the fulfillment of their experiment.

The first Kraang droid spoke. "Phase One of the experiment which is known as Experiment Five has been completed."

"Kraang is correct," agreed the second bot. "Now Kraang must determine if Phase One has been successful. Kraang must obtain the ones who are known as the turtles, and bring them to this place. When the ones who are known as the turtles are in this place, then Kraang may begin Phase Two of the experiment which is known as Experiment Five, in this place."

"Affirmative, Kraang, but if Phase One was successful, then the ones known as the turtles will no longer be turtles, so they must be known as the ones who were known as the turtles."

"Affirmative, Kraang. Kraang will search for the ones who were known as the turtles. The ones who were known as the turtles will be captured and brought to this place in the unit of time known as today."

"Excellent, Kraang."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yay! I now have cover art! This gorgeous picture was done by my friend, the amazingly talented WinterHeath. Her artwork was actually what inspired me to write this story in the first place and she has since created several fantastic illustrations for it. You can (and should!) check out her gallery on DeviantArt.**

 **Chapter 5**

"Yeah! This is going to be epic!" shouted Mikey as he and his brothers raced toward the turnstiles, feet shod and pockets stuffed with their allowance money.

"Where are you going!?"

The four boys halted at the sound of their father's stern voice. Frozen in mid stride, they turned to look at Splinter.

"Well, Sensei," began Leo nervously, "We were just going . . . shopping."

"You are going into a human store, during the day?" Splinter said, with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes," answered Donnie, "because we can now, can't we, Sensei?"

The rat looked over his sons thoughtfully before replying, "Yes, you may." A loud cheer erupted from the four boys and they immediately resumed heading for the exit. "But," continued Splinter, and his sons froze again, "You must leave your weapons behind."

"What?" they cried in unison, "Why?"

"Because you will be arrested if you attempt to enter a store wearing swords or nunchaku!" the rat shouted sharply. This had apparently not occurred to the four ninjas.

"But, Sensei," protested Raph, "What if we run into the Foot, or the Kraang?"

"That is unlikely to happen in the middle of the day. And even if you do, I have trained you to fight, even without weapons."

"Well, yeah," Leo said, betraying his uncertainty, "but that doesn't get us very far if the other guys are armed!"

"Then you can do what every other human would do."

"What's that?"

"Run away."

A loud humph from Raph communicated his contempt of this plan.

"I will hear no more arguing!" Splinter's eyes were blazing and the boys knew it would be best to obey. "Leave your weapons behind, or you do not go!"

Hastily the boys handed their weapons to their father and headed for the exit once more, somewhat more slowly this time, some of their enthusiasm having been dampened.

Once in the sewer tunnels, however, their excitement picked up again, and Mikey bounded ahead of the group, crying, "Man, I can't wait to see what the city looks like in the day time! This is gonna be so cool!"

Even Raph was smiling a little, for the first time since their new mutation.

Leo turned to Donnie. "So, Donnie, have you told April yet?"

Donnie rubbed the back of his head nervously as he replied, "Ah, no. . . It's not exactly something you can put in a text message. But she was planning on coming over after school today, so I guess she'll find out then."

As they rounded a corner, Mikey suddenly stumbled, and then began hopping around on one foot as if the other wasn't working properly. "Aaugh, guys, my foot's asleep!" he cried, shaking it around. "Aaaa! My whole leg's asleep! Oh, it tingles! It tingles!" He continued to dance around for a few seconds, then suddenly giving his leg one last shake, began walking normally again. "Oh wait, never mind, dudes, it's all good!" He flashed them a winning smile and bounded on ahead again.

"What was that about?" asked Raph, confused, as the three of them followed Mikey down the familiar tunnel.

"Temporary loss of nerve sensation and motor function in the extremities is a predictable side effect of an unstable mutation," Donatello explained.

Raph's look of confusion only increased. "Seriously, bro, sometimes I swear you aren't speaking English."

Donnie only glared at him, so Leo took over the explanation and recounted to Raphael the conversation they had had in the lab earlier.

"So, you mean, this isn't permanent?" Raph asked, gesturing to himself. "Oh thank God!"

"Not unless we want it to be," replied Leo hesitantly.

"Why would we want it to be?" asked Raph with disdain.

Leo didn't answer, but glanced at Mikey who was nearing the manhole cover they planned to exit by, and was too far ahead to hear their conversation. Raph followed his gaze and understood.

"Mikey wants to stay human, doesn't he?" he asked in a low voice.

Leo nodded. "Can you really blame him, Raph? He's always wanted a chance at a normal life. And anyway, he's afraid of going through the mutation process again."

Raph shrugged. "Well, I guess I can't blame him for _that_ , but I still don't think it's worth it." He noticed the sad look on Leo's face. "You're siding with him, aren't you?"

Leo sighed. "Just think about it, Raph, OK?"

"Dudes, come on! What's takin' you so long?" called Mikey from the top of a ladder a few yards ahead of them.

With one more glance at Raph, Leo led the way to join him, leaving his brother frowning behind him in the semi-darkness.

The sun shone brightly and the September air was warm as the former turtles emerged from the dank dampness of the sewers, blinking in the dazzling light. They were in a familiar alley way, where, as they had anticipated, no one had seen them climb through the manhole. Cautiously they approached the busy street in front of them, which was crowded with passersby and bustling with the thousands of noises that together made up the hum of the city. After peering around the corner for a moment, the four boys stepped out of the alley and joined the throng walking down the sidewalk. All the while they stared at everything around them. The city was so different in the daytime! So alive, so full of people!

"It's so weird," Raph said to Donnie, who was walking next to him. "We're right in the middle of a crowd of people, and no one's staring at us!"

Donnie grinned at him. A few steps ahead of them, Mikey started waving at everyone who passed by, and greeting them loudly. "Hi! I'm Mikey! How are you? Hey, what's your name? Mine's Michelangelo! Hey, where are you going today? I'm going shopping with my bros!"

"OK, _now_ everyone's staring at us," grumbled Raph as he stepped ahead a few paces to silence Mikey.

Before Raph could reach him, though, Mikey lost interest in his one-sided conversations and, as he reached an intersection, turned around to talk to his brothers. "Hey, guys, isn't this the coolest? Look! I've always wanted to try one of these!"

He rushed up to the pole of the traffic light and pressed the red button for the walk signal. Then he rocked impatiently on the balls of his feet as the cars zipped by in front of him, concentrating on the glowing red hand across the street. Suddenly it turned into the symbol of a man walking and Mikey grabbed his brothers excitedly, pulling them across the street amid a small crowd of other pedestrians.

"So, what store should we try?" asked Leo, after Mikey's little street-crossing adventure was over.

The boys looked around. "There's one," said Donnie, pointing to an impressive looking department store a little further down the road. They headed in that direction, Mikey bouncing in his excitement.

"Guys!" he cried, "This is so awesome! We can finally do all the human stuff I've always wanted to do!"

"Like what?" asked Raph, who had never really given much thought to the things humans did.

"You know, like make a friend, ride a bus, go to the zoo, eat ice cream at an ice cream shop, swing on a swing, get a haircut, take a taxi somewhere, go to a baseball game, hang out with friends, eat at a restaurant, go to school, ride a roller coaster, play football, fly in an airplane, build a snowman, get a driver's license, swim in the ocean, go to the movies, go Christmas shopping. . ."

His three brothers stared at him as Mikey continued to rattle off his long mental list without hesitation. Raph was surprised. Mikey had never talked much about wishing to be part of the human world, but apparently he had spent a lot of time thinking about it. Raph recalled what Leo had said earlier about their little brother's desire to remain human, and he frowned as he listened to Mikey, beginning to comprehend how much it meant to him.

Their freckle-faced brother was rambling on about carnivals and all the different kinds of food he wanted to try when they reached the large glass doors of the department store. He finally fell silent as they stepped inside and were met with an overwhelming display of merchandise. Racks and racks of clothes, shelves of shoes, entire aisles devoted to toys of every description, whole sets of brand new dishes and kitchen appliances. Brightly printed signs hanging from the vaulted ceiling directed them to yet more sections of the store, bedroom supplies, hardware, and cosmetics among them.

The four boys stood agape for a moment before wandering off to look in awe at the vast amount of items for sale around them. Before they had gone far, their wide-eyed meandering was stopped by a friendly looking woman who appeared before them. Smartly dressed in a blue pencil skirt and matching jacket, the woman smiled through pink lipstick and asked brightly, "Hello, boys! Can I help you find anything today?"

Raph and Donnie just stared at her, not sure how to respond to a friendly human talking to them, well, normally. Mikey was distracted by a display across the aisle and hadn't noticed the sales clerk. Leo glanced quickly at his unresponsive brothers before taking a breath and answering tentatively, "Um, no, thank you. I think we're fine."

"OK. Well if you need anything, you just let me know!" With one more smile, she turned and walked down the aisle, her high heels clicking on the tile floor.

"Pajamas!" Mikey suddenly called out, breaking the other boys out of their shell of shyness. "That's what humans wear to bed! Now I remember!" He picked up a pair of pajama bottoms with Captain Ryan printed all over them. "Hey, Leo, these would be perfect for you! Want me to buy you some Space Heroes pajamas?"

Leo laughed, but Donnie, inspecting the merchandise in question, said, "I don't know, Mikey. How much money do you have? These cost thirty dollars."

"Thirty dollars?!" cried Mikey, hastily hanging the pajamas back on the rack. "I only have six." Mikey looked crestfallen, but Leo assured him he didn't mind.

"What happened to the rest of your money, Mikey? How come you only have six dollars?" he asked.

"Spent it all on pizza, of course. What else was I going to do with it?"

Donnie slipped his hand in his pocket and fingered the cash he had stashed there. He had more than thirty dollars, but he wasn't going to spend it on pajamas. He had other plans for his money.

Raph, meanwhile, had selected a black leather jacket off a nearby rack. "Check out this cool jacket," he said, holding it up.

"Oh, Raph, you would look totally awesome in that!" cried Mikey. "You should buy it!"

But once more their excitement was quelled by the size of the price tag.

"Two hundred dollars!" cried Raph, disgusted. "Man, shopping isn't as fun as dumpster diving. At least then, if you find something cool you can keep it."

"Yeah," agreed Mikey. "I didn't realize being human would be so expensive!"

"Come on, guys," said Leo. "We can't afford anything in this store. Let's go somewhere else."

As they stepped back onto the sunny street, Leo suddenly felt a prickle on the back of his neck. He glanced cautiously around to find the source of his uneasiness. There were hundreds of people milling about along the street, walking in and out of shops, and glancing in windows, but none of them seemed to be looking in their direction.

Mikey, who had noticed his brother's behavior, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Leo, do you feel like someone's watching us?"

Leo turned to his brother. "You feel it, too?"

Mikey nodded, but still they didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"It must just be that we're not used to being around so many people," Leo suggested, trying to explain away the strange feeling. Mikey still looked unsure, but shrugged it off as he noticed a hot dog stand across the street.

"Look, guys, hot dogs! And they're only $3.50! Let's get some; I'm starving!"

A few minutes later the boys, hot dogs in hand, continued down the street, talking, laughing, and generally enjoying themselves.

"This is the best day ever!" Mikey exclaimed, scarfing the last of his hot dog and letting out a large belch. Before his brothers even had the chance to agree with him, Mikey's mind had already jumped to another topic. He pointed down the street crying out, "Ooh, ooh! Ice cream! I want to get ice cream from an ice cream shop! You guys want some?"

"Actually," said Raph, "I'd rather check out that store over there." He pointed across the street to a martial arts store with Japanese posters hanging in the windows and an elegant katana on display. "You coming, Leo?"

As their red and blue clad brothers began crossing the street, Mikey grabbed Donnie's arm and pleaded, "You'll come with me to get some ice cream, won't you? Please?"

"I don't know," said Donnie, watching Raph and Leo disappear into the store. "Maybe we shouldn't split up."

"Oh, come on, Donnie, they know where we're going. And we all have our T-phones. We'll be fine. Come on!"

"OK, fine," Donnie gave in, "but I want to visit an electronics store after this."

"Sure thing, D. Now let's get some ice cream!"

Before they reached the shop, however, Mikey was once again distracted, this time by a brown and orange striped cat that began rubbing against his ankles.

"Aaawww! What a cute little kitty!" he cried with enthusiasm, kneeling down to pet it. The cat began to purr and Mikey grinned. "Look, it likes me! Aw, can I keep it, Donnie, please?"

"No, Mikey, you know how Master Splinter feels about cats. And anyway, it might already have an owner."

"Nah, it doesn't have a collar. Which means it doesn't have a name! I have to at least give it a name. Let's see," he thought out loud as he watched the cat try to tear open a discarded juice box. "It's orange, and it looks like it likes juice. . . Orange Juice! It's the perfect name!"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Come on, Mikey, I thought you wanted ice cream."

"Oh yeah!" Mikey leaped up and followed Donnie toward the ice cream shop. "Bye, Orange Juice!"

Halfway through the door, Mikey paused and scanned the street. That uneasy feeling had come over him again. He glanced around but still didn't see anyone suspicious. Shrugging, he turned his attention to the glass topped counter inside the shop, below which were tubs upon tubs of more flavors of ice cream than he had ever seen before.

"Whoa!" he breathed, pressing his nose to the glass. "I can choose _any_ of these flavors?" The lady behind the counter gave him a strange look and nodded. He scanned the labels. Mint chocolate chip, fudge brownie, butter pecan, vanilla. . . In the end he settled on strawberry, having remembered the time April had brought some of the delicious fruit down to the lair for them to try. If the ice cream tasted anything like that. . . Mikey's mouth began to water in anticipation.

"I'll have a double, no, a triple scoop!" he announced, and watched eagerly as the pink ice cream was piled higher and higher into the cone.

"What kind are you having, Donnie?" he asked, turning to his brother, who looked deep in thought about something completely not ice cream related.

"What? Oh, I'm not having any."

"What? All these flavors and you're not even going to try one?" Mikey could not comprehend his brother's decision.

"That'll be $5.75," said the cashier in a bored voice, holding Mikey's giant ice cream cone.

"Oh, uh, heheh," said Mikey nervously, pulling the remainder of his change out of his pocket. "I've only got two dollars and . . . twenty-nine cents."

The cashier raised an eyebrow at him. "It's $5.75," she said, unamused.

"Hey, D, could you loan me a few dollars, please?" He gave his brother his pleading puppy dog eyes, but it had no effect.

"No, Mikey, I'm not spending my money on ice cream."

Disappointed, Mikey turned back to the lady behind the counter. "How much can I get for $2.29?"

Without a word, she knocked two-thirds of the ice cream back into the tub and handed him the remainder. The single scoop looked rather pitiful after the tantalizing mountain he had been staring at, but still, he was getting ice cream from an ice cream shop, and that was something.

A moment later, he settled on a stool at a counter top with Donnie beside him. His brother still seemed distracted and had pulled out some paper and a marker.

"Watcha writin', Donnie?" Mikey asked, his mouth full of delicious strawberry goodness.

"I'm just going over some of the equations I was working on earlier regarding the stability of our current mutation. I'm afraid I may have initially overestimated the amount of time we have until we inevitably revert back to our previous forms."

Math stuff. Michelangelo was instantly bored and changed the subject. "So, how come you didn't want to spend your money on ice cream?"

"I'm saving it," his brother answered simply, not looking up from his equations.

"Saving it for what?"

Donatello did not answer, but the slight color that rose to his cheeks did not go unnoticed by his little brother, whose intuition could be uncanny sometimes.

"Ah, you're going to ask April out on a date, aren't you?!" asked Mikey with a mischievous grin.

Donnie's head instantly shot up, his cheeks flushed a deep crimson.

"Haha! Totally called it, bro!" sang Mikey triumphantly. "Dude, if she says yes, then you'll _have_ to admit she's your girlfriend!" Mikey loved teasing Donnie about April, but actually, this time, he was happy for his brother. After all, he knew that Donnie, too, had a list of human things he wanted to do, and this was definitely at the top.

Before Donnie could think of something to say in response, Mikey's mind had been pulled in another direction by a soft meow at his feet. Glancing down, he cried out, "Aw, look! Orange Juice followed me in here! I guess she really does like me! Are you hungry my little kitty?"

He picked up the cat and sat her on the counter in front of him, letting her take a lick from his ice cream cone. Donnie gave him a disgusted look.

"That's not sanitary, Mikey."

Mikey snorted. "Come on, bro, we live in a sewer. A few cat germs isn't going to hurt me."

Donnie wasn't the only one who found the cat's presence offensive, however, for at that moment the manager of the shop, a large, bald man with a red mustache stepped out of the back room. His eyes locked instantly on the dirty animal defiling his counter and his face turned a shade of red to rival his mustache.

"Get that filthy animal out of my shop!" he screamed at a startled Mikey, who nearly dropped his ice cream.

"Why?" asked Mikey innocently.

"No pets allowed!" the man bellowed, pointing to a sign in the window that stated the rule in clear red letters.

"Oh, well, she's not really my pet – " Michelangelo started to explain, but an angry shout from the now purple-faced manager startled the feline in question who leaped off the counter and streaked out the door as another customer was entering.

"Orange Juice! Wait!" called Mikey, shooting the manager an angry glare for frightening the cat and dashing out the door after her, while being careful not to spill his treat.

Across the street, Raph and Leo were emerging from the martial arts store. Raph had marveled at the display of antique weapons while Leo chatted with the owner in Japanese about his home in Okinawa, and where he had studied Ninjitsu. At last they had decided it was time to find Mikey and Donnie, and as the door swung shut behind them with the tinkle of a bell, Leo once more tensed. The uneasy feeling of danger near at hand was stronger than ever. He could tell Raph sensed it, too, and together they looked around the street, taking in the details of every person who passed by.

"There!" Raph suddenly shouted, pointing across the street.

It didn't take Leo long to recognize the figure passing by a newspaper stand. The thin man had short black hair, a blank face, and was dressed in a nondescript black suit and tie. A Kraang bot in disguise.

"What's it doing?" asked Leo aloud. The Kraang was holding some sort of electronic device in its hands and was staring down at it as it walked, as if the device was leading it where to go. "It looks like it's tracking something. . ."

Suddenly, as the Kraang neared the ice cream shop where their brothers had gone, the door burst open and Mikey came barreling out in pursuit of an orange cat that shot around a corner and disappeared into the crowd. They could see Mikey calling after it, but couldn't distinguish his voice among the myriad of other sounds assailing their ears. The Kraang bot, however, had turned his tracking device directly at Mikey and began walking purposefully toward him.

"MIKEY!" shouted Raph, but Mikey's back was facing both them and the Kraang bot, and he neither heard Raph's warning, nor saw his pursuer approaching.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey, guys! I really appreciate all the favorites and followers. You guys are great! Reviews make me extra especially happy, though, so please remember to let me know what you think of the story! It is greatly appreciated!**

 **Chapter 6:**

"MIKEY!" shouted Leo. He raced across the street, hoping to reach his little brother in time, but the jostling crowd hindered his pursuit. He saw the gap closing between the Kraang and his youngest brother, but Mikey, still searching for the lost cat, did not hear Leo's call.

Suddenly Leo felt something whoosh past his ear and a second later the Kraang droid twitched spasmodically as it short-circuited and then fell crumpled to the ground, a Hamato throwing star embedded in the back of its head. Leo wheeled around to face the red-clad brother behind him.

"Raph!" he shouted indignantly.

"What?" shrugged Raph, grinning. "Oh come on, like I was really going to come up here completely unarmed!"

Leo just shook his head as the two hurried to the place where the fallen robot was quickly drawing a crowd. Quick as a flash, Raph swooped in and retrieved his shuriken, while Leo snatched the droid's tracking device. No one seemed to have noticed them, and a moment later they came up short in front of the ice cream store. Donnie was standing in the doorway, having just witnessed the event as he was about to exit the shop, and Mikey, who had finally given up chasing Orange Juice, had at last become aware of his surroundings and was staring at the prone robot.

"Dudes! Did you guys just – ?"

Raph just nodded, and grabbing Mikey by the shoulders, shoved him around the corner, saying, "Come on, let's get out of here before people start asking questions."

As they followed their two brothers down another street, Leo handed Donnie the tracking device he had stolen off the Kraang. "It looked like that Kraang was using this to track Mikey," he said.

Donnie's eyes glowed with eagerness as he stared at the sparkling pink screen and pressed and turned the many buttons and dials, discovering the purpose of each. So immersed was he in learning the device's secrets, that Leo had to yank him by the arm to keep him from running into a street lamp that had suddenly sprung up in his path.

"Fascinating!" the genius cried at last. "It appears that this device is specially tuned to locate trace amounts of activated synthesized mutagen!"

"Uh, could I have a translation, please?" asked Mikey.

"It's a Blue Goo tracker," Donnie stated simply. "Or, more accurately, it can track people who have been exposed to Blue Goo."

"Meaning us," said Raph bluntly. "Great. Now the Kraang can follow us wherever we go, even to the lair!"

"No, I don't think so," said Donnie, twisting a few dials. "The readings on this are not that accurate. It appears it can only detect a mutated person if he comes within half a mile of the device. We should be safe underground. Also, once the mutagen is detected, the location is only accurate to within ten feet. So if they were tracking, say, Mikey, and he suddenly joined a large crowd of people, they wouldn't be able to tell which person in the crowd was the one infected with Blue Goo."

"So, we're safe underground, and in the middle of a crowd," clarified Leo.

"Basically," answered Donnie.

"But what about – " began Raph, but was interrupted by a familiar computerized voice ahead of them.

"The ones who were known as the turtles have been located in this place. Kraang must obtain the ones who were known as the turtles."

A Kraang droid, dressed in its human suit, appeared out of a side alley only a few feet in front of them, holding another tracking device.

"Quick!" cried Leo. "This way!" He grabbed Donnie's arm and led his brothers down a side street, away from the Kraang, which immediately began to quicken its pace in pursuit of the boys.

This street had much fewer people walking along it, so Donnie's plan of hiding in a crowd was not an option. The four boys were faster than the Kraang bot, however, and soon increased the distance between them.

"Leo!" shouted Raph suddenly, "Why are we running? Since when are we afraid of a single Kraang?"

"Since we are in an exposed place, surrounded by people, without our weapons, and with not even our shells to protect us!" Leo shouted back. "And anyway, we're not afraid, we're just . . . choosing to engage the Kraang on our own terms!"

"Right!" scoffed Raph, sarcastically. "Enough of this!" And stopping abruptly, he reached down and pulled a small blade out of his sock. With deadly accuracy, he flung the shuriken through the air and struck the robot directly between the eyes. It fell, twitching, to the ground, just as the first had done. Raph watched with a smirk.

"Alright, Raph, you made your point," said Leo. "Now let's get out of here before the police show up."

Consenting at last, Raph followed their leader down a different street.

"We should probably head back to the lair," said Donnie. "April will be getting off school soon, and she was planning to come over after that."

Just as he spoke, he felt his pocket vibrate and heard the familiar ditty announcing a text message. Pulling his T-phone out of his pocket, Donnie glanced at it.

 _Can only come over for a few min. after school. Science field trip was rescheduled for this afternoon. Will still stop by, tho, Leo said something weird happened?_

Donnie looked up. "Leo, you told April?"

Leo shrugged. "I just said something weird happened to us. I thought it was only fair to give her at least some warning, so she didn't totally freak out when she saw us."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

April made her way carefully through the sewer tunnels, trying not to let her boots touch the water, and trying even harder not to think too much about it when they inevitably did. At last she approached the abandoned subway station her best friends called home. She knew she could only stay a few moments, but even a short visit was worth the trip down here. Seeing the turtles was always the best part of her day.

Vaulting over the turnstiles the way her honorary brothers always did, she was about to call their names when she suddenly froze at the sight of an unfamiliar boy slouching among the cushions in the pit, playing a video game on the turtles' TV. He looked to be about fifteen, but was rather small and skinny. He had tousled brown hair and freckles, and, strangely, was wearing an orange ninja mask, exactly like Mikey's.

The boy was unaware of April as she stared at him, unable to account for his presence in the lair. Was this the weird thing Leo had mentioned? Had they made a new friend?

At last, clearing her throat, she said loudly, "Uh, hi!"

She was about to ask the boy who he was, when he suddenly looked up at her with a grin and a second later she found herself in the midst of a rib-cracking hug while a familiar voice cried, "Hey, April! How do you like my new look?"

As the boy let her go and stood in front of her so she could get a better look at him, all she could do was stare, mouth agape. She had instantly recognized both the voice and the manner of greeting, but her brain refused to process the information.

"Come on, April, don't you recognize me?" He was still smiling at her, but his eyes betrayed a touch of hurt at her apparent inability to return his greeting.

"Mikey?" she finally managed, though the name came out in a whisper.

"Yep!" he crowed. "I knew you'd know it was me! Hey guys!" he suddenly shouted into the lair. "April's here!"

Two more teenage boys poked their heads out of Donnie's lab, and a third, wearing a red mask and carrying Spike, emerged from the kitchen. There were a few more awkward moments of staring as the boys drew closer and greeted her with a nervous series of "Hi, April".

At last, April found her voice. "Guys, what – how – how did this happen? When you said something weird, I was expecting an interesting story about some new mutant monster, but _this_! This is _not_ weird. This is beyond bizarre!"

The boys glanced at each other and then at their friend, who was still looking at them like she half expected them to jump out of their costumes and tell her it was all a joke. Taking her gently by the elbow, Donnie led April to a comfortable seat in the pit while Leo recounted the tale of their fight with the Kraang. When he finished, April turned to Donnie, a look of utter bewilderment on her face.

"But, I thought you said it was impossible for you guys to become human?"

"Yeah, I thought so, too," answered Donnie, "But. . ."

"But they're alien robots!" interrupted Mikey. "Anything's possible!"

"So. . ." April hesitated, her mind still trying to comprehend the abnormal situation. "Is it permanent?"

"No," stated Raph quickly.

"Well, not yet," clarified Donnie. "But if we get our hands on more of this synthesized mutagen, or Blue Goo, as Mikey calls it, we could decide to make it permanent, if we want to."

Raph huffed and folded his arms. April looked at each of their strange new faces searchingly, before asking, "And do you want to?"

"We haven't decided yet," stated Leo firmly, glancing at both Raph and Mikey, who decided not to contradict him.

There was silence for a moment as April considered this, then Donnie, who had been mentally running through this scene all day, began, "Um, April, I was wondering . . ."

But at the same moment Mikey began talking loudly, drowning him out. "April, you should have seen all the sweet stuff we did today! We went into the city in the day time, and we went shopping, but we didn't buy anything 'cause we didn't have enough money, then we got hot dogs, and ice cream, and I found a cat that liked me, and it liked ice cream, too, and we got chased by Kraang bots, but we got away, and there's still so many cool human things I want to do and oh! April! Can I go to school with you tomorrow?"

April was a bit baffled by the rapidity of this speech and it took her a second to comprehend Mikey's question. "You want to go to school with me?"

"Yeah! I've always wanted to go to school! It looks so awesome! And there's tons of kids there. I could make some new friends and eat at the cafeteria and go to all your classes with you and please say yes!"

April was unsure. This entire strange situation was still sinking into her brain. Before she could think too hard about it, however, Mikey gave her his best pleading look, hands clasped before him in desperate supplication. Even though his features looked different, the expression in those eyes was too familiar, and she had never been able to refuse them. Sighing, she gave in. "Fine, you can come to school with me. But just for one day!"

Mikey was already fist pumping the air. " _Yes_!" he cried. "Oh, April, this is going to be so awesome!"

April couldn't help smiling at him. She had her misgivings, but maybe he was right. It could be fun. Glancing at her watch, she suddenly stood up. "Oh, sorry, guys, I really have to go!"

"But you just got here!" complained Donnie.

"I know, but like I said, I have to go on a field trip. I'll come back tomorrow. Oh, and, Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"Meet me at the bus stop at 7:15 tomorrow morning, ok?"

Mikey's eyes were wide. "We get to ride a bus? Dude, that's on my list, too! This is going to be the best day ever!"

April laughed at him, and then, giving one more overwhelmed glance at the others, she rushed out of the lair, her mind whirling. She would never be able to concentrate on science this afternoon!

After April left, Leo and Raph wandered into different parts of the lair, leaving their two younger brothers alone in front of the TV. Mikey picked up his game controller with the intention of finishing the level he was stuck on, when he suddenly noticed the death glare Donnie was shooting in his direction.

" _What?_ " cried Mikey defensively.

"I was going to ask April out on a date!" said Donnie angrily.

"Oh yeah," said Mikey, still rather unsure about the source of his brother's ire. "Why didn't you?"

Mikey was sure Donnie was going to blow smoke out of his ears as he shouted, "Because you wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise! We knew she could only stay for a few minutes, and you took up all her time talking about shopping and school and riding on buses!"

The young ninja stared at his older brother, he eyes large with contrition. "Oh, dude, I'm sorry! I got so excited about going to school, I totally forgot you were going to ask her out!"

Donnie continued to glare at him.

"Hey, maybe you could call her. She might still be free after her field trip." Mikey did his best to be helpful, trying to placate Donnie.

Donnie sighed, his manner softening after Mikey's sincere apology. "Nah, it's the kind of thing I wanted to do in person."

"Well, to be honest, bro," said Mikey softly, placing a hand on Donnie's shoulder, "I don't think today would have been a good time, anyway. She was totally freaked out. You don't want to ask a girl out when she's freaked out by the sight of you."

Donnie looked at his little brother's serious expression. Mikey's insight did him credit. Sighing again, Donnie consented, "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Of course I am, bro!" Mikey said brightly. "And you can always do it tomorrow."

"Yeah. . . assuming we're still human tomorrow."

"We better be! I'm going to school tomorrow! Wait, do you think maybe we won't be?" A look of alarm had come over Mikey's face.

"It's hard to say for sure, but according to the calculations I was correcting, I'd say we have until tomorrow night, or the next morning at the latest."

"Well, then it's a good thing we're going out tonight to look for that Blue Goo! Once we have that, we can stay human forever!" Sitting back, satisfied, Mikey resumed his game.

Donatello looked at his little brother, worried. What would happen if they didn't manage to find the blue mutagen in time? Or what if they found it and Mikey used it, but Raph refused to? What would Leo choose? What would he, himself choose? He was pretty sure he knew what he wanted, but was it worth splitting up his family for? Could they handle that kind of division? For once, Donnie did not have the answers to any of his questions.

 **A/N: Questions, questions! Decisions, decisions! What do** ** _you_** **think they should choose?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks again to those of you who reviewed my story, especially ChloetheCriticCat and InsaneDutchGirl for the amazing and encouraging reviews you left me. I'm so happy to know people are enjoying my story! So if you are reading this story and haven't reviewed yet, please do, because it always makes my day! OK, on with the tale!**

 **Chapter 7:**

The night was dark and the city smog hid a crescent moon as the four ninjas climbed the fire escape, gaining access to their usual road – the rooftops. As they leaped onto the top of the apartment building, Raphael stopped, and said, arms crossed, "Remind me again why we're trying to find the Kraang and their Blue Goo?"

"Dude, because we need the Blue Goo to stay human, of course!" stated Mikey emphatically.

Raph frowned. "OK, then remind me again why _I'm_ helping you find the Goo?"

Mikey looked hurt, but Leo cut in, "We don't just need the Goo to maintain our mutation, _if_ we decide to do that. We also need to find out what the Kraang are up to – why they are tracking us."

"Well, we already know _that_ ," put in Donnie, flippantly. His brothers all stared at him and he glanced back at each in turn, surprised that they hadn't all figured it out already. "They want to capture us so they can finish their experiment," he said in an I-thought-this-was-obvious tone of voice.

"But when we went to their headquarters last night we didn't find any experiment they were working on," said Mikey, sounding confused.

"No, don't you get it?" Donnie seemed slightly annoyed. "The Blue Goo _was_ the experiment. It's a new kind of mutagen the Kraang have created that can – well, actually, I'm not sure precisely what it does yet, because I haven't finished my research – but the point is, they needed mutants to test it on, so they lured us to that garage so we could be their test subjects."

"Great. 'Cause I've always wanted to be the Kraang's guinea pig!" said Raph bitterly.

"Now they're tracking us," continued Donnie, "because they need to bring us to their facility and monitor us to see if the new mutagen worked."

"OK," said Raph, still skeptical. "So, what the Kraang _really_ want is for us to come to their facility so they can run tests on us, and we are going to just _walk_ right in there? Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until we changed back into turtles? Then the Kraang's experiment would be ruined, they would stop tracking us, and we could go back to trashing them like we usually do."

"Except that we are not the Kraang's main plan," said Leo calmly. "We were only the test subjects in their initial experiment. I'm sure they have a much bigger plan for this Blue Goo once they figure out if it works. We need to get in there, find out what that plan is, and stop it. We have to either get this new mutagen away from the Kraang, or else destroy it so they can't use it again."

"I still don't see why we can't wait until we turn back into turtles to do that," said Raph, determined to be the voice of division.

"Maybe because not all of us want to change back," said Donnie quietly, not looking at Raph.

"And anyway," said Leo quickly, "If we wait that long, the Kraang will start looking for someone else to try out their experimental mutagen on. Other people's lives could be at stake. We do this tonight, and that's final. Are you with us, Raph?"

Raphael noted the challenge in the leader's eyes and at last mumbled, "Fine. But if we do get some of that Goo, I make no promises about using it!"

Satisfied, Leonardo led his three brothers swiftly and silently along the rooftop, leaping easily to the next building as he came to the edge. At the end of the block, an alleyway cut in front of them, creating a wider gap between buildings, but Leo, unconcerned, did not slow his pace. They had traversed this street dozens of times and he knew he could easily jump all the gaps. As he reached the edge of the brick structure at the end of the block, he crouched low, mid-stride, and flung himself into the air, aiming for the rooftop across the alley.

As soon as his feet left the ledge, however, Leo knew something was wrong. He had used all his strength, but he had not projected himself high enough or fast enough. His descent began too soon. He wasn't going to make it! As he found himself falling into the alley three stories below, his first panicked instinct was to retract into his shell. That being impossible, he curled himself up and prepared for impact.

Luckily, several empty cardboard boxes piled near a dumpster against the far wall broke Leo's fall, though he still landed forcefully on his back on the concrete ground, smacking his head on the brick wall hard enough to cause him to see stars. The pain of a bruised back was a new and unpleasant sensation for Leo, who had been accustomed to his hard carapace protecting him from blows from behind.

"Leo! Leo, are you alright?" came three concerned voices from the rooftop above him.

Leo moaned, and a moment later his brothers had swung themselves down the fire escape and were looming over him, checking his condition.

"Leo, are you hurt? Is anything broken?"

Leo waved them aside and attempted to sit up, assuring them with a groan that he was fine, just a bit bruised. Donatello insisted on checking for a concussion before he would allow Leo to rise to his feet, which he eventually did, though a bit stiffly.

"Well, what have we here?" came a strange voice from the entrance to the alley.

The four ninjas turned around and saw six rough-looking men eyeing them greedily, some armed with knives, some with makeshift weapons such as pipes or baseball bats. The long tattoos coiled up each of their arms identified the gang to which they belonged.

"Purple Dragons!" cried Raph, cheering up at the sight of them and drawing his sai. The others also swiftly drew their weapons and assumed a battle stance. The Dragons hesitated for a moment. Clearly they had been anticipating an easy mugging and were somewhat taken aback by the arms displayed before them.

"Who do you kids think you are, walking around with weapons like that?" sneered the leader, a tall, wiry man with a scar over one eye. He appeared fairly certain that these teenagers were in over their heads and would not be capable of wielding the weapons they so confidently bore.

"Why don't you come a little closer and find out?" quipped Raph, eager for the fight.

This challenge angered the gang leader, and with a snarl, he drew a long dagger and charged the four boys. His companions followed, though somewhat more hesitantly.

Leo quickly engaged a large man armed with a crude, homemade weapon consisting of a heavy stick laced with rusty nails. He had to duck several times as the much taller man swung the weapon at his head with his powerful arms.

Far to the right, Mikey was fighting off two at once and succeeded in cracking one Dragon in the skull with his nunchaku.

Meanwhile, the remaining three charged Raph and Donnie in the middle. While Donnie was engaged in close combat with one of the thugs, another was racing up behind him, swinging a metal bat. Raphael noticed this attacker and without thinking, dodged in front of Donnie, turning his back to the weapon in an effort to protect his brother.

Leo, out of the corner of his eye, saw what his red-banded brother was doing and cried out, "Raph, watch your back!" But it was too late. The bat came down with a crack between Raph's shoulder blades and he let out an involuntary cry at the shock of pain from his usually armored spine.

Pain did not cripple Raphael, however, but rather fueled his fury, and with a roar he spun around and lunged at his attacker with his sai, slicing at the man's arms until he ran, cut and bleeding, from the scene. Seeing his companion thus defeated infuriated a large, powerfully built thug, who pulled his fist back for a punch, aiming for Raph's face.

Raphael attempted to raise his right arm to block the blow, but suddenly found the limb was not responding to his will. His sai fell from his numb and lifeless fingers and clattered onto the concrete. "What the _heck_?" he growled, just as the thug's fist connected with his face, and for the second time that day, Raph's nose spouted blood.

Enraged, Raph retaliated with two kicks to the man's gut followed by several jabs with his remaining sai, which sent the gang member rushing after his friend.

Meanwhile, Leo and Donnie had managed to dispatch three of the remaining criminals, though they, too, did not escape without cuts and bruises. Mikey was still fighting the leader of the gang, who was trying to stab him with his knife, but, thanks to Mikey's swirling nunchuks, couldn't get close to the boy.

Swiftly, Mikey leaped into the air, with the intention of grasping the railing of the fire escape above him, then swinging both feet in front of him, giving the thug a double kick to the face. However, he overestimated his jumping capabilities, and missed the railing by an inch or two. His legs having swung forward in preparation for the kick, he landed abruptly and painfully on his rear end with a surprised, "Ow!"

The Purple Dragon whose face had been the intended target paused momentarily to laugh at Mikey's amusing failure. That moment was all Donnie needed to take the man down with a powerful swing from his bo.

As the last of the gang members fled the scene, Donatello pulled some gauze from his pocket and handed a wad of it to Raph to stem the flow of blood from his nose. He then began smearing antiseptic on a nasty cut Leo had obtained on his bicep while Raph helped Mikey to his feet.

"Man," the freckled ninja said despondently, rubbing his bruised hind quarters. "That was messed up."

"No kidding," said Raph, tilting his head back to help stop the bleeding. "Six Purple Dragons, and we look like we went up against the Shredder!"

"Well, actually, after we fought the Shredder we looked a lot worse," corrected Donnie, who had a large purple bruise over one eye.

"Fine, Dogpound and FishFace, then," said Raph, irritably. "The point is, we've never been beaten up this badly by the Dragons! And you still want to go after the _Kraang_ tonight?" This question was directed at Leo.

"Yes, Raph. We'll be fine. We just need a few adjustments to our fighting style. Our moves are just as effective as they always were. We just have to remember that our backs are vulnerable now, and also not to try to jump as high or as far as we normally do."

"That, and hope our arms and legs don't randomly go numb in the middle of a fight," said Raph bitterly, tossing aside the bloody gauze as the flow from his nose had finally ceased. Leo did not respond to this, so Raph continued. "And another thing. How are you planning on getting us there? We can't take the rooftop route, as you so gracefully demonstrated for us."

"We'll take the streets, of course," said Leo shortly.

"The streets? There's people on the streets, Leo. We'll be seen."

"Does that really matter?" put in Donnie. "We're not mutant freaks anymore."

"It matters if you're carrying swords!" said Raph. "Remember what Master Splinter said? We don't want anyone calling the police on us."

"No one's going to call the police, Raph," said Leo, getting exasperated. "We're _ninjas_. We know how to keep to the shadows and not be seen."

"Or, we could take a cab," suggested Donnie, as one of the yellow cars drove obligingly by.

"Oooh, that's my vote!" cried Mikey excitedly. "It's on my list!"

"That's not exactly very ninja, Donnie," said Leo.

"Yeah, nothing screams 'stealth mission' like driving up to the Kraang's front door in a bright yellow taxi," scoffed Raph.

"It was just a suggestion!" cried Donnie defensively.

"Look, guys, enough arguing!" shouted Leo. "I'm making this decision, and I say we're walking. Now let's go!"

Some time later, the four boys, having successfully traversed the city without being seen, arrived at the abandoned garage they had visited the night before. Using Donnie's lock pick, they gained entry by the back door and began looking around for any clue as to the nature of the Kraang's plans.

The entire building was completely empty. Apart from the disturbed dust on the floor, there was nothing to show a battle had taken place there only twenty-four hours ago. All traces of the Kraang's presence had been removed. After combing the area and finding nothing useful, the four boys gathered in the center of the garage.

"What do we do now?" asked Mikey. It seemed they had reached a dead end.

 **A/N: So, I haven't really touched on Leo's point of view in regards to the whole humans vs. turtles debate, but don't worry, you'll see what he's thinking about the situation in the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

The garage was completely deserted. Leo looked around at the shifting dust, unsure what to do next. He had been so hopeful that they would find a clue here.

"I thought the Blue Goo was going to be here!" cried Mikey, who had been the most desperate to find it that night. "Where is it?"

"Actually, I don't think it ever was here," stated Donnie looking around thoughtfully, "except for the small amount the Kraang had in their guns last night."

"What do you mean, Donnie?" asked Leo. "This is the address where the Kraang said they were conducting their experiment. You heard it on the communication orb."

"Exactly," said Donnie, "But you see, the Kraang knew I was listening in. This was never the location where they were actually creating the new mutagen. They just gave me this address to lure us here – to a place far from their research so they could test the Blue Goo on us without fear of us trashing their equipment."

"Or learning any more about their plans," added Leo grimly.

Donnie nodded.

Raph growled. "So we came all this way for nothing!"

Mikey looked panicky. "So, we have no idea where the Blue Goo is? What if we don't find it in time?" He put up his hands to feel his face, as if he expected to begin transforming back to a turtle then and there.

"Actually, I have several ideas of where the Kraang facility might be located," said Donnie reassuringly. "But I'll have to go back to the lair to retrieve my data before I can conclude the most likely options."

"We have to go home, anyway," said Leo. "It's getting late and Master Splinter expects us back soon." He began leading them toward the door.

As Mikey followed, he asked, worried, "But what about the Blue Goo? We needed to find it tonight! Donnie says we don't have much time until we change back!" He ignored Raph's pointed glare.

"Don't worry, Mikey," said Donnie as he replaced the lock on the back door. "We have at least until tomorrow night. We'll search again tomorrow."

"But right now, you need to get a good night's sleep," said Leo in a parental tone. "You have school in the morning." He smiled playfully at Mikey.

Mikey laughed. "Haha! Leo, you sound like one of those moms on TV!" But he cheered up considerably at the mention of school, and the four ninjas crept quietly back to their lair.

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The school bus moved slowly through the early morning traffic. The usual buzz of chatter filled the air, but April wasn't participating in any of the conversations. She was tired, and she leaned her head against the window, watching the activity around her. She had been unable to sleep last night as the strange new faces of her friends kept parading themselves before her eyes. She couldn't get the bizarre situation out of her mind.

A few months ago, when she had first met the turtles, she had been surprised by how easily she had adjusted to the idea that her best friends were mutants who lived in the sewer. But they had saved her life and accepted her as one of the family, so she wasn't about to be judgmental about appearances. Now her dear ninja turtle 'brothers' were no longer mutants, and she was finding this much more difficult to get used to. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the idea.

She stared at the boy sitting beside her, bouncing up and down in his excitement. He was at the same time both a stranger to her, and familiar as a brother. She felt she already missed the turtle she had grown so close to, but when the messy-haired boy turned to grin at her, his baby blue eyes reminded her that her friend was still there. She shook her head, unable to wrap her mind around the contradiction.

Already April was having second thoughts about letting the former turtle accompany her to school. He had no notion of social protocol. The bus driver had twice yelled at him to sit back in his seat, as he kept leaping around the bus, talking a mile a minute to everyone. In his ecstasy, Mikey did not seem to notice that no one was responding to him. Most of the teenagers were staring at the obnoxious newcomer with shocked aversion.

At last they pulled into the school parking lot. Mikey leaped excitedly off the school bus and raced to the front of the building, followed closely, though less enthusiastically by April. He stopped several yards before he reached the door to take in the scene. April could see his eyes shining as he looked eagerly at the large, tan brick building with wide concrete steps leading to the large double doors, and an American flag flapping in the breeze outside. In the courtyard and on the steps, teenagers were milling about, chatting, goofing around, or comparing homework notes. There were still several minutes before the first bell and no one seemed in a hurry.

"What do you think, Mikey?" asked April coming up beside him.

"It looks amazing!" squealed the boy, his blue eyes filled with joy. He noticed a couple of boys about his own age practicing skateboarding tricks near the steps. He watched them with glee for a couple seconds before stepping forward. "Hey!" said Mikey with a cheerful grin. "That's an awesome trick! I've never seen that one before. Can I try?"

April kept a respectful distance, taking up a position near the stairs where she was still close enough to watch how this interaction would play out.

The two boys looked in surprise at the new kid who was being so forward, but with a friendly shrug, the taller one with curly blond hair relinquished his board to Mikey, saying, "Sure. Let's see what you can do." He was a lanky boy with freckles and sparkling brown eyes that gave the impression he was ready for anything, as long as it was fun.

Mikey tried the new move a couple of times, and on his third try executed it successfully. "Yes!" he cried. "That's an awesome trick!"

He handed the skateboard back to the blond boy, who said, "Hey, you're pretty good." He extended his hand in greeting, saying, "I'm Justin, by the way. Justin O'Brian. And this is Ryan Smalls." He indicated the stockier, sandy-haired boy beside him who shoved his hands into his sweatshirt pocket and nodded casually at Mikey. He was wearing baggy clothes and leaned against the wall in a manner that clearly showed he considered himself too cool for his surroundings.

Mikey took the proffered hand and shook it excitedly, saying, "This is so awesome! I'm Michelangelo, by the way. Hamato Michelangelo." He imitated Justin's method of introducing himself, having never participated in a proper introduction before. April smiled to herself. Mikey was doing alright.

Justin looked at him slightly confused. "So, your first name is Hamato?"

"No, it's Michelangelo," Mikey corrected, then clearly comprehending Justin's source of confusion, he clarified, "In Japan, family names come first."

Ryan raised an eyebrow and scrutinized Mikey, taking in his round blue eyes and freckles. "Um, no offense, but you don't look Japanese," he said.

Mikey laughed. "No, dude, but my sensei – I mean, my _dad_ – is from Japan. I'm, uh, adopted." April hid a smile as she couldn't help thinking that Mikey's father did not look particularly Japanese at the moment, either, but of course, Mikey did not feel it necessary to mention this.

"Oh, that's cool," said Ryan casually.

"So, Michelangelo," began Justin, maneuvering his tongue around the mouthful of a name.

"You can call me Mikey."

"OK. So, Mikey, what's with the orange mask?" Justin gestured toward Mikey's face.

"Oh, my dad gave that to me. It's my ninja mask!" Mikey said this proudly, as if everyone ought to desire this kind of facial wear.

Justin's face became skeptical at this, while Ryan's bore a look of disdain that clearly stated he thought Mikey was far too old to be playing dress up. April frowned and felt a sudden surge of protectiveness toward Mikey. He was like her little brother, and she did not want him to be made fun of on his first day ever at school.

"No, for real, dudes," Mikey defended himself. "My dad's a totally awesome ninja master, and he is training me and my brothers in the art of Ninjitsu. If I had my nunchuks with me I could show you some moves." April could tell his new friends still didn't really believe him, but at that moment the bell rang and Justin and Ryan picked up their backpacks that had been leaning against the wall and slung them over one shoulder.

As the boys raced up the front steps, they called out in a friendly way, "We'll see you around, Mikey!"

Mikey waved to them, then turned to the red haired girl who was waiting for him by the stairs. "Did you see that, April?" he exclaimed with joy, "I made some new friends!"

April smiled affectionately at him. He hadn't done too badly, after all.

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The sun shone warm on their backs as the two brothers stood together on the rooftop, scrutinizing the bustling office complex across the street. It was about an hour past noon and Raph and Leo had been out since early morning, trying to track down the Kraang.

When they had all arrived home the night before, bruised and disappointed, Donatello had pulled out a map of the city, and using the data he had collected on the Kraang over the last few months, had marked out the eight possible locations of their experimental facility in red marker. He labeled them with the numbers one to eight, based on the likelihood of each one being the correct building.

That morning Mikey had left for school directly after training, and Raph and Leo had taken the map, leaving Donnie in his lab to further research the Blue Goo. Beginning with the location labeled '1', the two oldest brothers had traversed the city, scoping out each place in turn. They did not, however, search them in order of likelihood, but in order of proximity to their current location, in an effort to efficiently save time.

The first building had been an abandoned warehouse where they had encountered the Kraang once before, but the aliens seemed to have deserted it. The second place they checked, labeled Number Five on the map, had turned out to be an underground Kraang containment facility. They had engaged in a minor scuffle with the Kraang here, but had not found anything remotely connected to the Blue Goo. Number Two had been infested with Kraang, and the brothers had had difficulty in managing to escape with their lives, but again, had discovered no new information. Number Eight had been only an old wooden building on the fishing docks, which smelled strongly of fish, but not of Kraang.

Now the two boys were surveying the office building, labeled Number Seven on the map, where Donnie suspected the Kraang had a secret operation in the basement. Leonardo watched the people hurrying in and out of the front door on business of their own, and his mind was already calculating the best way to infiltrate the building unnoticed. Only half of his brain was thus occupied, however. The other half was focused on Raph.

All morning Leo had noticed that Raphael had something on his mind, and he strongly suspected what it was. However, he knew his least expressive brother would open up more if left to do it on his own time, so Leo had refrained from approaching the subject. Now he could tell that whatever had been preying on Raph's mind was about to explode out his mouth, and he waited patiently for his brother to begin.

Leo stole a glance in Raph's direction. The wind was ruffling his brown hair and whipped the red tails of his bandana about his shoulders, but he was otherwise standing stock still. Leo noticed that he was not watching the office building, though; he was watching Leo. As their eyes met, whatever had been bubbling up inside of Raph all morning finally burst out.

"So, what's the real plan here, Chief?" he asked, folding his arms and narrowing his eyes. Leo knew what he meant, but thought it best to wait and let Raph elaborate on his own. "I mean, we've been out here all day looking for this Blue Goo, but what happens if we actually find it? Are you really planning on taking it back to the lair? Are you really planning on _using_ it?"

Leo looked steadily back into Raph's emerald green eyes, which were boiling with accusation, frustration, and a hint of betrayal. "I haven't decided that yet, Raph," he said calmly.

"Well, you better decide soon, because you know what will happen if we bring that stuff home with us. Mikey will use it for sure, and I think Donnie will, too. He probably thinks it will give him a shot with April." Raph scoffed as he said this. "So you need to figure out what _you_ would do with it. Have you even thought about it yet?"

"Of course I've thought about it!" snapped Leo. "And you're right. Mikey and Donnie would use it. They have good reasons to want to remain human, Raph. Try to remember that."

"Yeah? Well I have good reasons to want to be a turtle again. Have you thought about _that_?" The sense of betrayal was showing stronger in Raph's eyes now.

"Of course I have, Raph. But what about Master Splinter? Think about how much he has always wanted these opportunities for us, and for himself. If we finally had the chance at a normal life and just threw it away, wouldn't that be like a slap in the face to him?"

Raph growled and began to look angry. "Alright, Leo, drop the perfect leader act. So far you've told me what Mikey and Donnie want, and what Master Splinter wants, but what do _you_ want?"

Leo was rather taken aback by the directness of this question. He was the leader of this team, and even before that, he had always been the oldest brother. Responsibility fell on him to keep his family unified, and for years he had carved out this role for himself, necessitating that his own desires were wrapped up in the desires of his father and his brothers. No one ever really asked him what _he_ wanted. He wanted to keep his family together. He wanted whatever would make them happiest. Now that Raph asked him so pointedly, he found it difficult to separate his own desires from those of his family. He searched deep into his own heart. What _did_ he want?

Leo did have a secret desire. Ever since he was a child, he had dreamed of visiting Japan, of experiencing for himself the country of his family's cultural origin. He had never even told Splinter of this longing, for he knew it to be unattainable. They didn't exactly hand out passports to mutant turtles with nothing but a pet store receipt as documentation of their existence. If he remained human, perhaps he could finally accomplish this dream.

But then there was the life he and his family had created for themselves here in New York. True, they were outcasts and lived in isolation in the sewers, which sounded terrible, but if Leo was honest with himself, he had never really minded. He didn't feel the sting of loneliness. He had his family, and that had always been enough.

Besides all this, he loved the new role he and his brothers had adopted as defenders of the city. Battling the Foot and the Kraang was exciting. Defending people from gangs and thugs was rewarding. They had become heroes, and that was something he had always wanted to be. And Raph was right. They could do that much better as mutant turtles.

And honestly, he liked being a turtle. It had never bothered him that his family was different. It made them unique, special somehow. It was part of who they were.

Leo looked up at Raph who had been watching his deep contemplation with an accusatory stare. "In all honesty, Raph, I like being a turtle," he said with a small smile.

Raph's face softened into a look of surprise. "You mean, you're on my side?"

"It's not about sides, Raph. It's about what's best for this family." Leo knew he had to get Raph to understand this if he didn't want his family to fall apart over this issue. "Raph, as the oldest brothers, it is our job to protect this family, to keep us all together. You and I cannot afford to be selfish. We have to think about what Mikey and Donnie want, what would make _them_ happy. We're a team, Raph, and I need your help to take care of our little brothers."

Leonardo could see the effect this speech had on his hot headed brother. By sharing the responsibility with his brother, rather than placing himself on a pedestal by trying to shoulder it on his own, Leo had brought Raph to his side, effectively causing him to see beyond himself to the needs of the family as a whole. Raph no longer saw Leo as betraying him by siding with his younger brothers, but rather as respecting him enough to share with him the burden of taking care of the family, a burden which Raph often desired to take on himself.

Raphael did not answer right away. Then, in a rare moment of affection, Raph clapped his brother on the shoulder and said, "Sensei made the right decision when he made you leader, bro."

Leo stared at Raph, surprised, but the moment was already gone. Raph turned his attention back to the office building across the street and said brusquely, "So, how are we getting in there to trash the Kraang?"

 **A/N: If you haven't checked out WinterHeath's gallery on DeviantArt, you really should! She made a fabulous illustration of Raph and Leo for this chapter. It is seriously my favorite and I squee every time I look at it! Thanks again, WinterHeath. :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, everybody! I really hope some of you are still enjoying this story. No one reviewed the last chapter at all and I can't help wondering if everyone is losing interest. If so, I won't bother posting the rest, but if you really do like the story, please drop me a review and tell me what you think so I know someone out there likes it and wants me to continue. At any rate, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter 9:**

Mikey sat with his cheek resting on one hand while his finger traced the dents, scratches, and doodles left on the desktop by generations of bored students. Someone had carved a rude word into the wood of the desk with a pen, and someone else, presumably a teacher, had tried to scrub it out, but Mikey could still read it. He sighed and glanced out the window.

The school day was almost over, and so far, it had been a series of unforgettable experiences. It had taken him several classes to discover what was expected of him. He hadn't realized school had so many rules! After getting in trouble several times throughout the morning, he learned that he was supposed to sit still in his desk instead of jumping on top of it to get a better view out the window, and that he must raise his hand if he wished to speak, rather than talking loudly to anyone who would listen about completely irrelevant topics. He had also found out that not every person in the school was interested in telling him their names, and that the middle of a social studies lesson was not the appropriate time to demonstrate a new kata he was inventing.

By midday, every teacher in the school knew the name of their boisterous visitor, and had, most likely, given him a reprimand. Poor April was continually trying to hide her embarrassment and make excuses for him.

Despite these unfortunate setbacks, however, Mikey was having a wonderful time. In gym class he had easily breezed into first place completing the obstacle course the students had to run. He was able to show off some of his painting skills in art class, though the teacher had been very confused when he said the turtle he had painted was his brother, Leo. At lunch he was thrilled when his new friends Justin and Ryan had invited him to sit with them, though they may have regretted this when he stood on the table to demonstrate to the room his alphabet burping abilities. He'd gotten as far as M before he had been pulled down and made to behave. Chemistry was something Mikey had been somewhat apprehensive about, but thankfully they had a substitute that day and they ended up just watching a movie while half the students took the opportunity to take an afternoon nap.

Now, however, it was the last period and he was stuck in April's trigonometry class, listening to the teacher drone on. It was like sitting through one of Donnie's rambling speeches for forty-five minutes, without being allowed to interrupt him. Mikey sighed again and tried to focus on sitting still, a task in which his restless arms and legs refused to cooperate. Math had always been his worst subject. Despite his father's best efforts and Donnie's attempts at tutoring, Mikey had never progressed beyond multiplying and dividing fractions. The teacher continued to talk, and he might as well have been speaking Greek for all Mikey understood.

Mikey glanced over at April, sitting in the desk next to his. He kept catching her staring at him, which puzzled Mikey. For the first time, April was the one giving him strange looks, while everyone else treated him normally. He supposed she would just need time to get used to the idea of him being human.

At last, the large bottle of root beer Mikey had drunk at lunch obligingly gave him an excuse to leave the room. He shot his hand into the air. The teacher stopped in mid-sentence and seemed surprised to see Mikey's hand.

"Yes, um, Michelangelo?" he said.

"Can I go use the bathroom?"

The teacher sighed. He had clearly been hoping for a question relevant to the topic. "Yes, you may, but hurry back."

Mikey was already on his feet. "Thanks, dude! Uh, I mean, sir!" He flashed a grin at the unamused teacher as he bounded out of the room.

Mikey took his time in the bathroom, having no desire to return to trigonometry. He spent a few minutes making faces in the mirror. It still amused him to see that human boy looking back at him out of the glass. When he finally opened the door to step back into the hallway, he yelped in surprise. He found himself face to face with the blank stare of a Kraang bot in disguise.

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Donatello watched eagerly as the mutated cells transformed before his very eyes. At last! This was the answer! "Guys!" he called, jumping up from behind his microscope and running to the door of the lab. "Guys! I figured it out!"

His excited shouts were met with a silence unusual for the lair at this time of day. Donnie remembered that none of his brothers were at home, and Splinter was in his room, meditating. Too excited to wait until they returned, Donnie pulled out his T-phone and scanned his short contacts list, selecting Leo's name. He paused as Leo's picture popped up and the familiar green turtle face smiled up at him. In a moment of morbidity he wondered if he would ever see that face again. He shook away that thought and punched the call button.

A few seconds later, Leo's voice came through the phone. "Hey, Donnie! What's up?"

"Leo!" cried Donnie, his excitement apparent in his bubbly voice. "I figured out what the Blue Goo does!"

"Really? That's great, Donnie! You can tell us all about it in person in a few minutes. Raph and I are on our way home."

"Oh, did you discover the Kraang facility?" asked Donnie hopefully.

"No, not yet. We've checked five of the eight locations, and turned up with nothing. It took us ages to sneak into the last place we checked, which was the basement of that office building, and all we found was some cleaning supplies and an angry janitor."

"Sorry, Leo. I was pretty sure some of those places would be total dead ends, but I had to include them all, just to be safe."

"Yeah, I get it, but Raph and I need a break now. We haven't eaten since breakfast and we're starving. We're coming back to the lair for a late lunch, then we can all go out together after Mikey gets back from school. We're nearly home, so we'll see you in about twenty minutes."

"OK, see you then."

Donnie pocketed his T-phone and picked up his laptop. It would be just as easy to finish typing up his findings in the kitchen as in the lab, and Leo's mention of food had reminded his growling stomach that he, too, had missed lunch. Setting his computer on the kitchen table, he put a large pot on the stove to boil for ramen and went back to entering his data.

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Mikey took a tentative step back from the Kraang droid blocking his way out of the bathroom.

"You are one of the ones who were known as the turtles. The ones who were known as the turtles must be captured by Kraang for the experiment which is known as Experiment Five, which will be conducted by Kraang."

Mikey caught a glimpse of a tracking device before the robot pocketed it, and noticed a strange new weapon in its other hand. It was a short metal rod, about a foot long. Half the length of it crackled with pink energy, and Mikey was quite sure he did not wish to discover what this weapon could do. Instinctively, he put his hands to his hips, only to remember he had left his nunchaku at home. As the Kraang began to advance toward him, wielding the glowing baton in his direction, Mikey quickly appraised the situation. He was an unarmed teenage ninja against an alien robot wielding an unknown weapon. The odds were against him, but he wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"Nah! You have to catch me first!" taunted Mikey as he raced back toward the toilets.

The Kraang followed, as expected, and Mikey ducked into one of the cubicles. Leaping onto the toilet, he reached up and grasped the upper edge of the partition. He then pulled himself up to perch above the head of the droid who had just opened the cubicle door in pursuit of him.

Releasing his battle cry, Mikey hurled himself at the Kraang, landing forcefully on the droid's head. Had he still been a turtle, he would have been able to crash down on the robot with the full weight of his shelled body and crush it to the ground. As it was, he knew he was far too lightweight for that, so instead he used its head as a springboard to launch himself beyond the droid, in the direction of the door. However, his graceful leap was cut short mid-arc as the fast moving robot grabbed his ankle, causing him to fall full length on the floor, slamming his cheek hard into the tile.

Refusing to let the pain distract him, Michelangelo leaped instantly to his feet and continued his escape, barreling into the hallway. There he paused momentarily, glancing in both directions down the the corridor, taking in the numerous closed doors on either side. He could not take refuge in a classroom, for that would endanger the other students. His only option was to get outside.

This thought flashed through his brain in a fraction of a second, but that was all the time the Kraang needed to catch up to him. Before Mikey could head for the exit, he felt a touch of cold metal at the back of his neck, followed by instant flashes of pain surging through his whole body like liquid fire. The pain consumed his mind. Burning. Searing. White hot pain. Letting loose a scream, he fell to the ground, mercifully breaking his connection to the weapon. His mind cleared as he gasped for breath. What was _that_? He had never felt pain like that before, not even during the recent horrific mutation. It had lasted only a couple of seconds, but had left him momentarily stunned, crouching on his hands and knees trying to catch his breath, which had undoubtedly been the Kraang's intention.

In the instant before Mikey had time to regain his feet, the robot grabbed his left wrist, holding it tightly in its metal grip. Mikey growled and struggled to free himself, but in vain. Several kicks to the robot's legs and torso produced no results beyond bruising a few of Mikey's favorite toes.

Giving Mikey's arm a frightful tug, the robot caused the boy to lose his footing and began dragging him down the hallway by his wrist, painfully twisting it in the process. Mikey cried out and tried to brace himself against the floor in an effort to hinder the droid's progress, but his shoes kept slipping on the smooth tile and he continued to be helplessly dragged away.

Struggle as he might, the boy was no match for the strength of the alien robot. He needed backup. With his free hand, Michelangelo felt in his pocket for his T-phone. He drew it out, but before he could punch the panic button, the Kraang saw what he was doing and knocked the phone out of his hand with a sharp kick. Mikey yelped and shook his bruised fingers as the T-phone skidded away across the floor, far beyond his reach.

The young ninja tried once again to wrench his hand free, but his efforts only resulted in shots of pain running down his arm from his sprained wrist. He couldn't believe it! He was losing to a Kraang! One single Kraang! As he looked up at the droid's merciless stare he wasn't sure which emotion was strongest in his chest – fear or humiliation. In an attempt to mask both behind his frustrated rage, he shot the Kraang droid an angry glare. "Let me go!" he shouted, though he knew the order would not be obeyed.

The robot spoke in its usual monotone voice. "The one who was known as one of the turtles has been captured by Kraang and will be taken by Kraang to the facility which is used by Kraang to perform the experiments which are the experiments of Kraang. The one who was known as one of the turtles must offer no resistance, or the one who was known as one of the turtles will be punished." Upon completing this long-winded threat, the robot held up the metal rod to illustrate its intentions.

Mikey, who had tuned out most of the Kraang's run-on sentences, understood all too well what was meant by this gesture. Humiliation was forgotten. Fear was clawing at him, threatening to consume him as he looked at that weapon. There was one thing Mikey knew for sure. He did _not_ want to come into contact with that horrifying stick again! Desperate to escape, he pulled and strained against the vice grip on his wrist, but it did not slacken in the slightest degree. In response to the boy's pointless attempts to struggle, the droid raised his crackling baton. Mikey's freckled face grimaced in anticipation of pain, but it never came.

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. An instantaneous flood of students surged out of the classrooms, surrounding the startled alien robot and its prey. It took the teenagers all of five seconds to notice the abduction taking place before them, and most stopped and stared in fear or stunned silence. A couple of girls screamed, and several students raced back into classrooms to fetch teachers.

"Mikey!" cried a familiar voice, and the boy recognized his red-headed friend elbowing her way to the front of the crowd.

"Stay back, April!" Mikey called in a commanding voice. He knew how dangerous this Kraang could be with its new weapon, and he did not want her getting hurt. April paused, her blue eyes flicking between him and the Kraang bot, unsure what to do.

During this commotion, the Kraang droid turned its head this way and that in a confused manner, as it realized that all of its paths to exits had been suddenly blocked by the crowd of students. Mikey took advantage of the robot's momentary distraction and sent a powerful kick into the hand that was holding the pain-producing weapon. Taken by surprise, the alien droid lost its grip on the baton and the weapon went flying, bounced off a wall, and slid along the floor before the feet of a group of students.

One boy reached down to pick it up, but Mikey, still caught in the unrelenting grasp of the robot, called out frantically, "Don't touch that! It's dangerous!" The student pulled his hand back immediately, and looked in confusion at the boy being restrained by the creepy-looking stranger.

Suddenly, several teachers pushed their way through the mass of students, and came face to face with the man they were unaware was an alien in disguise. All they saw was a strange man forcefully abducting one of their students.

"Unhand that boy immediately!" demanded one brave woman at the front of the group. Several of the male teachers looked ready to physically force the man to let Mikey go, if it came to that. A siren was heard, not far away. Someone had called the police.

Mikey held his breath, wondering what the Kraang would do. It scanned the room, taking in the hundreds of people, the sounds of approaching law enforcement, and its lost weapon, far out of reach. Then, to Mikey's surprise, the droid dropped him, turned, and ran, purposefully and methodically, out of the building, knocking down several teachers and students who did not get out of its path in time.

Stunned, Mikey sat on the floor where he had fallen, rubbing his sore wrist and watching the alien robot disappear, a few of the braver teachers chasing after it. An instant later, he was receiving a hug from April and being helped to his feet by the woman who had confronted the Kraang bot.

"What happened?" the woman was asking him. "Do you know that man?"

Mikey opened his mouth to say that it wasn't a man at all, but an alien brain in a robot body who was trying to capture him for a mutation experiment, but then remembered the first time he had encountered the Kraang and the reactions of his brothers when he had tried to tell them about it. Instead, he shook his head and said, "No! The dude just jumped me when I was coming out of the bathroom!"

Mikey wanted to get home right away and tell his brothers about his experience, but the concerned teacher, seeing the nasty bruise on his cheek where he had struck the bathroom floor, insisted on taking him to see the school nurse first. April gave him an understanding look as he was led away down the hall.

Unknown to Michelangelo, his would-be abductor managed to escape the police and returned unhindered to its headquarters, where it made the following report:

"Kraang has located one of the the ones who were known as the turtles, but Kraang was not successful in capturing that one for the experiments of Kraang. It is necessary that Kraang have several Kraang units of backup when Kraang attempts again to capture any of the ones who were known as the turtles."

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Donatello heard voices entering the lair, followed by his two older brothers bursting into the kitchen. Despite their failed mission and lack of food, they looked to be in good spirits.

"Hey, Donnie," Raph greeted, moving directly to the pot of ramen bubbling deliciously on the stove.

Donnie waited patiently until his brothers had poured themselves large bowls of steaming noodles before attempting to capture their full attention. As Leo sat down beside him and picked up a pair of chopsticks, their usual choice of utensil, Donnie said excitedly, "OK, guys, so I finally figured out exactly what this synthesized mutagen does!"

"Alright, Donnie," interrupted Raph, "but please! Keep it in English this time."

The scientist gave his brother an exasperated look, but plowed ahead, attempting to keep his vocabulary level to a minimum. "OK, OK. So, I figured out that this Blue Goo completes mutations!"

"What do you mean?" asked Leo. After several frustrated moments of fumbling with the chopsticks in his fingers, he tossed them aside in favor of a spoon.

"Well, you know how the regular mutagen, the green stuff we'd all been exposed to originally, combines the DNA of an animal or human with the DNA of whatever creature it had last been in contact with? It then creates a hybrid of the two creatures – in our case, humanoid turtles."

Raph and Leo both nodded, showing they understood.

"Well," continued Donnie excitedly. "The blue mutagen causes the second set of DNA to totally take over, completing the mutation, transforming the animal or human entirely into the new creature. For us, that meant completing the process of turning us from ordinary turtles into humans." Donnie was grinning with the excitement of his discovery.

"So. . ." said Leo slowly, getting his head around this new information. "If Master Splinter were to be exposed to the Blue Goo, he would become – "

" – an ordinary rat," finished Raphael.

"Exactly!" stated Donnie, not noticing the negative connotations of Raph's statement in his joy over his discovery.

"One more reason not to bring any to the lair," mumbled Raph.

"So," said Leo, "What happens if an ordinary person, a non-mutant, is hit with the Goo?"

"As far as I can tell, nothing," answered Donnie, clicking away on his laptop. "According to my experiments, the synthesized mutagen requires a secondary string of DNA to latch on to in order to cause the mutation process."

"Then I wonder what the Kraang's plan could be for this stuff," pondered Leonardo.

There was a few minutes of silence, punctuated only by the slurping of noodles, as the three boys considered this. When no obvious solution was forthcoming, Leo turned back to Donnie.

"So, Donnie," he began, a serious tone in his voice. "Raph and I had a discussion while we were out, and we have agreed that, if we get some of the Blue Goo tonight, we will be willing to use it to remain human, if that's what you and Mikey really want."

Surprised, Donnie glanced questioningly at Raph, who gazed steadily back at him and nodded, a solemn expression on his face.

"Wow, really?" asked Donnie, hardly believing it. "Gosh, that really means a lot, you guys. And I'm sure Mikey will be thrilled to hear it, too."

As if on cue, the sound of their youngest brother's voice echoed through the lair. "Hey, guys! I'm ho-o-ome!"

A second later, he burst through the kitchen partition, followed by a frazzled looking April, whose presence caused Donnie's cheeks to flush pink.

"Hey, Donnie," she greeted, her voice sounding tired. "Is it OK if I use your laptop to finish my history essay?"

"Sure," he said awkwardly, shoving it towards her.

Mikey was already talking a mile a minute about his exciting day. "Dudes, you totally should have come to school with us today! It was awesome! We had pizza for lunch in the cafeteria. They only let you have two pieces, but this one girl didn't want hers, so I got to eat it, and I totally made some friends! Their names are Justin and Ryan and they love skateboarding, too, and want to see the tricks I invented, so I'm meeting them at the skate park tomorrow afternoon, which is going to be epic, and hey, is that ramen? I'm starving!"

The fast talking ninja was already holding the ladle and a bowl before he realized his brothers were all staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"What happened to you?" asked Raph, taking in the large purple bruise under Mikey's eye, and his sprained wrist, neatly bandaged by the school nurse. "Did you get into a fight?"

Mikey followed his brother's gaze and held up his injured hand. "Ah, no, dudes, I was totally nearly captured by the Kraang!"

"What?!" His brothers leapt instantly to their feet.

"You didn't think that was important enough to include when you were telling us about your day?" asked Leo, incredulous.

"I was getting to it, bro. I mean, come on, we get attacked by the Kraang almost every day. It's not exactly new. But this was the first time in my life I made a friend!"

Leo was slightly confused by the reasoning behind Mikey's priorities, but he set it aside and calmly asked his brother to elaborate his story. Mikey then recounted with relish his encounter with the Kraang, with April adding in a few details.

When he finished, Leo patted him on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're OK, Mikey, but this means we have to be more careful when we go topside. We must put an end to the Kraang's plot tonight!"

The three brothers quickly brought Michelangelo up to speed on what they had learned about the Blue Goo, and what Raph and Leo had accomplished (or not accomplished) during the day.

"We have three locations left to try," said Leo. "We need to find the Kraang, discover what they're trying to do with the Goo, and stop them!"

"And steal some of the Goo for ourselves!" added Mikey with a grin.

Leo nodded. "Well, if you're all ready, then let's go!"

He moved quickly toward the kitchen doorway followed eagerly by Raph and Mikey. Donatello, however, hesitated.

"Um, guys," he said, rather nervously, glancing at April, who was immersed in her homework and didn't see him blushing, "I, uh, have a couple things to do here first, so I'll catch up with you?"

He cast a pleading look in Mikey's direction, hoping his intuitive brother would understand. Mikey glanced at April and then winked at Donnie. "Sure thing, bro! Call us when you're on your way!"

Leo and Raph looked slightly confused, but Mikey ushered them quickly out of the kitchen. When they had jumped the turnstiles and were safely out of earshot of the lair, Leo turned to Mikey. "What was that about? Why isn't he coming?"

Raph, who had noticed Donnie's nervous glance at April, said with a scowl, "Please tell me he's not going to do what I think he's going to do."

Mikey just grinned at him. "Come on, bros," he said, pushing them forward. "He'll catch up to us."

 **A/N: OK, we're nearing the climax now, so things are about to start getting exciting! Let me know if you want me to keep going with this.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey, everybody! Me again. I want to apologize for the moody A/N I put in my last chapter. I was having a really emotional day and feeling discouraged about other things, and I just sort of took it out on all of you, and I'm sorry. :( You guys are really awesome, and I really really appreciate all the faves, follows, and reviews you have given me already. I'm so glad so many of you love this story. So, to make it up to you all, I'm posting another chapter already! Yay! I hope you enjoy it and thanks again for all your support.**

April glanced up from her unfinished history essay glowing from the screen of Donnie's laptop in front of her. She had been so focused on it a moment ago that she had only half listened to the boys' conversation as they were leaving the lair. Now she had become suddenly aware that she was alone in the kitchen with a blushing Donatello.

Choosing her usual method of dealing with Donnie's awkwardness around her, she pretended not to notice his painfully obvious crush. "Hey, Donnie," she said casually. "Why didn't you go with your brothers? I thought it was really important that you find the Kraang tonight."

"Yeah, uh, it is," said Donnie, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "but I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something first."

April stiffened slightly. She was afraid she knew exactly what direction this conversation was going to take, but she couldn't think of anything to say to stop it.

Donnie, his extreme nervousness apparent in the painful way he was twisting his fingers in his lap and the way he avoided looking in her eyes, said, "Uh, April, I was thinking, I mean. . . I was wondering, could you, um, I mean. . . would you like to go out, like, to a restaurant, you know, to eat. . . food. . . with me?"

The poor boy's face was flushed a deep pink and April knew that sentence had not come out the way he had planned.

"You mean, like, on a date?" she asked. Of course she knew that was what he meant, but to be honest, she was stalling. She knew her answer wouldn't be well received.

Donnie nodded. "Yes," he said, his eyes brightening. "Yes, like a date." He finally glanced at her face and the color of his own deepened.

Now it was April's turn to feel nervous. Donnie was her friend, and she didn't want to hurt him. How could she tell him that going out with him would just be too. . . _weird_? Grasping for an excuse, she remembered her plans for that evening.

"I'm sorry, Donnie," she said, "but I can't. My grandma is coming over for dinner tonight and my aunt said I have to be home by six. Besides, aren't you supposed to be meeting your brothers to find the Kraang?" This last sentence was a desperate attempt to cast his attention onto a different topic.

"Oh," her friend answered, less nervously this time. "Well, I didn't actually mean tonight. I was thinking, maybe, are you free tomorrow evening?"

April sighed. He hadn't fallen for it. She would have to be more honest with him. "Look, Donnie, I'm sorry, but this whole thing," she gestured to his new form, "is just too weird for me. I'm going to need some time to get used to it, OK?"

"Oh, OK." Donnie's countenance fell, and he looked at her with bewildered disappointment in his warm brown eyes. Oh, it was so uncanny to look at the face of a stranger and see her best friend looking out through those familiar eyes!

April felt a twinge of guilt at being the cause of pain for her friend, so she said, with an attempt at brightness in her voice, "Would you mind walking me home, though? I'd appreciate the company, especially since the Kraang are crawling all over the city."

Donatello's face instantly perked up. Latching on to this glimmer of hope, he flashed her a gap-toothed grin and said, "Of course! Just let me grab my bo!"

As April gathered her school books, Donnie rushed to his room and snatched his staff from its place beside his bed, slinging it into the sheath on his back. After Mikey's near capture, he wasn't about to go into the city unarmed again.

The two met by the turnstiles and Donnie spread his hands, gesturing for April to lead the way.

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As he reached the end of a street, Leo ducked into an alley way, followed by Mikey and Raph. Keeping in the shadows, which were not very concealing in the daylight, they stood still for a few minutes, watching the direction they had just come, scanning the many passersby for the form of their brother.

"What's takin' him so long?" growled Raph. The three boys had been making their way toward the location marked Number Three on Donnie's map, and had intentionally moved slower than their usual pace in order to allow their lovestruck brother to catch up to them. They were now about halfway to their destination, and had paused like this several times, hoping to see him chasing after them, but there was still no sign of him.

"Don't worry, Raph, he'll show up," said Mikey confidently.

Standing still as a statue, Leo impatiently watched the street behind them. "Well, he better hurry up. We don't have time to stand around waiting for him all night." There was a strong strain of annoyance in Leo's voice.

"Come on, guys, let's keep moving," grunted Raph, then added angrily, "Man, I can't _believe_ the dork ditched us just to spend time with his girlfriend!"

Mikey came to Donnie's defense as they continued down the street. "Dude, he just wanted to ask her out quick. It shouldn't take too long. He'll catch up to us soon."

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The sun had not yet set, but had dipped below the line of buildings so that the city was bathed in a diffused evening light. People walked quickly along the sidewalk, hurrying home after a long day's work.

Donatello and April walked side by side toward April's apartment in awkward silence. Donnie honestly didn't know what to say to her. He had been so certain she would accept his offer! He hadn't contemplated what to do if she said no. Well, she hadn't exactly said no, Donnie reminded himself. She had just said she needed some time. He desperately hoped he'd be able to give her that time. It all depended on how their mission went tonight.

Suddenly he became aware of April staring at him. He turned to look at her, and she glanced hastily away, but not before he had caught the expression on her face. He knew that look. It was a mixture of curiosity and aversion and wonder. He had seen that look on the faces of many strangers, when they had unexpectedly caught a glimpse of him, but seeing it in the blue eyes of his beloved April was like a knife stroke in his heart. She was looking at him like he was a freak! He had never, never seen her look at him that way. . . before.

Hurt and confusion filled his heart as April quickly began talking to try and cover up the awkward moment.

"So, Donnie, are you guys close to finding the Kraang's headquarters? Do you think you'll manage to get some more of that Blue Goo tonight?"

Donnie answered her, but he felt disengaged, as if it was someone else speaking. "Yeah, there are only three more possible locations, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. I'm sure we'll accomplish the mission tonight."

"And if you do find the Goo? Have you guys decided if you're going to use it or not?" They had reached the front of April's apartment building and she stepped up on the first step, turning to face him. She looked searchingly into his eyes as she waited for the answer to her sincere question.

Donnie gazed back at her, and despite the hurt he was feeling, his heart couldn't help skipping a beat at the vision before him. He was always so easily distracted by her brilliant red hair and shining blue eyes. An hour ago he had known exactly what he wanted, but now it seemed not so easily attainable and he wasn't sure how to answer her question. "Well, we had a discussion about it earlier," he replied at last, "and, yes, I think we will use it." He watched her carefully, wondering what her reaction would be to that idea. Did he detect a hint of disappointment? It was too fleeting to tell.

With an encouraging smile, April said warmly, "Well, just know that whatever you guys choose, I will always be your friend." Giving Donnie an affectionate hug, she turned and ran up the stairs, pausing to wave to him before she disappeared through the door.

Donatello turned and began walking slowly back down the street. He knew he was supposed to be meeting his brothers at the next possible Kraang location, but he felt he needed to take a minute to sort out his conflicting thoughts before he called them.

His heart was a whirl of disappointment. All this time he had thought that the fact that he was a mutant turtle was the only thing keeping April from returning his affections. But the way she had looked at him! He didn't understand. He was finally normal! He was finally just like her, so why did she look at him like he was from another planet? Didn't she want him and his brothers to be regular people, too?

A horrible thought struck him. How did she view her relationship with them, really? Were he and his brothers simply her special mutant friends that no one knew about, who lived in a secret lair that no one but she could find? Were they just her own personal fantasy that she could use to escape the reality of her difficult life? Would she be disappointed if they remained human and obtained a normal life for themselves? What if they moved to a normal apartment, and started going to school, or got jobs, or made other friends? Would their friendship lose its novelty appeal for her?

Grabbing his head in both hands, he tried to block out such painful ideas. In his logical mind, Donnie knew he was being unfair to April. After all, she had proven the depth of her friendship to them on several occasions, and she had only moments ago declared she would be their friend no matter what. Unfortunately, the lovestruck turtle had recently discovered that no matter how brilliant the brain may be, the heart seldom listens to it, and right now his wounded heart would not let the bitter thoughts be so logically dismissed.

As he turned into a shadowy alley, however, Donnie's musings of self misery were suddenly banished from his mind as three Kraang droids stepped silently out in front of him.

In an instant, Donnie's bo was off his back and in his hands, poised for battle. The ninja looked his enemies over. One droid was holding a tracking device, another a laser gun, and a third a short rod, glowing pink, that Donnie recognized as the new weapon Mikey had described earlier. Setting his face in a challenging grimace, Donnie slid his finger over the depression in his staff's handle, converting it to a naginata with the swift emergence of a blade from one end.

Not waiting for his enemies to attack, the young ninja made the first move. With a shout he swung his naginata at the middle droid, which was holding the gun, and sliced it in half. With the backstroke of the same attack he cracked the third droid in the head, causing it to crumple to the ground, dropping its crackling baton. Not pausing to watch the agitated brains emerge from their broken bodies, he turned to face the first robot, who, apart from the tracking device, appeared to be unarmed. This robot was dispatched as easily as the others.

Smiling, Donatello stood straight, surveying his handiwork. He felt better, having released some of his emotion into the fight. Now he was ready to meet his brothers.

As he turned, however, he suddenly found himself face to face with three more Kraang, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. These were all armed, two with guns, and one with the new weapon. Donnie crouched into a battle stance, but before he could make a move, he heard a sound behind him and turned to see another trio of robots landing on the ground, having leapt from the roof behind him. Tensing, Donnie tried to keep all six in his sights. After their fight with the Purple Dragons the night before, he was keenly aware of his new weaknesses and did not want to allow any enemies to attack him from behind.

With a swift whirl of his staff, he knocked down one of the robots, while dodging the laser fire of another. This second task was not particularly difficult, because the Kraang, as Donnie had expected, were shooting wide, intending to harm, and not to kill him. After all, he knew their primary objective was to capture him alive.

Another droid fell victim to Donnie's naginata but two more appeared to fill its place. He was quickly becoming surrounded and it was becoming more difficult to avoid blows. One laser beam managed to graze his shoulder, and he grunted in pain but did not slow the pace of his fighting. He and his brothers had improved much in the mastery of their new bodies during their training session that morning, and he was now putting all his skills to use defending himself against the increasing number of his foes.

There were about a dozen Kraang now, approaching Donnie from all sides, cutting off any means of escape. As the circle closed tighter around him, the ninja had less room to swing his weapon. He managed to fell two more robots before he felt his bo caught mid swing in the strong grip of a Kraang behind him. He tried to yank it back, but the droid was stronger and jerked it from his grasp, splintering the weapon in two.

Donatello tried not to let his panic show as he watched his bo being thus dismantled, but a second later he threw his arms up to protect his face as he found himself in the humiliating position of being the victim of his own weapon. The droid was raining repeated blows on his back and shoulders with the broken pieces of his staff, and Donnie cried out as welts began to form.

The ninja refused to remain helpless, however, and began to strike out with arms and legs, punching and kicking his way through a well-practiced kata. Though his strikes on the robots' metal bodies hurt himself more than his enemies, he succeeded in knocking the wooden pieces from the Kraang's hands. But another droid was upon him in the same instant, wielding the dangerous new weapon Mikey had taught him to fear.

A touch of metal at the back of his neck, and a surge of intense pain wracked his body. It was every bit as horrible as Mikey had described. With a shriek, Donnie jerked away, breaking the connection. Fire smoldered in his eyes as he turned to face his attacker, and with a strength fueled by fear, he wrenched the rod from the surprised alien's grasp and turned the weapon on its owner.

Disappointment washed over Donnie when he saw that the glowing rod had no effect whatever on the robot. The curious and calculating part of Donnie's brain instantly set to work trying to figure out what sort of weapon this was, that could effectively attack the nervous system of a carbon based life form, but brought no harm to the power cells of the alien droids. The practical part of his mind, however, was assessing the situation and, determining that the rod was more a danger to him than an asset, he threw it with all his might, far outside the group of robots encircling him, where it landed, harmless, in a dumpster.

Donatello then focused his attention once more on attacking the aliens, attempting to hold them at bay while keeping his eyes open for any chance of escape. He knew his options were few, but he tried hard not to let them perceive his fear. With a loud shout, meant to encourage himself as much as intimidate his enemies, he swung his left leg around, delivering a heavy kick to the chest of the nearest Kraang.

At least, that had been his intention. In actuality, the kick was blocked as the targeted robot grabbed his ankle in a fiercely powerful grip. With one swift motion, the robot twisted his leg. Hard. Donatello heard the sickening _snap_ of the bone as a stab of pain raced up his leg. He gave a sharp cry, and the Kraang let go, causing Donnie to stumble to the ground where he sat, unable to rise on his throbbing ankle.

In that moment Donnie knew there would be no escape. That crippling injury had rendered running impossible. His only chance would be to contact his brothers. As the robots closed their circle around him, he fished his T-phone out of his pocket, but his attackers were too quick for him. Just as one of the Kraang had done to Mikey earlier that day, a robot kicked the phone out of his hand before he had a chance to press anything.

The purple-banded ninja watched in horror as his last hope went skidding away across the pavement, hopelessly out of reach. Then, to his surprise, the phone began to ring. All of the Kraang, who had been reaching out to grab him, paused and turned toward the device jingling merrily away.

Donnie could hardly bear it. His brothers were calling him. He was one touch of a button away from being rescued, and he was helpless to make it happen. After several tantalizing seconds, the ringtone ended and the phone fell silent. One of the Kraang walked over to the T-phone, picked it up and slipped it into the pocket of its human suit. Donnie felt his heart sink as his near connection with his brothers was snatched from him.

The seven remaining Kraang droids then simultaneously turned their attention back to their helpless victim. Donnie felt the fear consume him as they purposefully approached him. He tried desperately to stand, only to fall to the ground again with a cry of pain at the slightest pressure to his broken ankle. He knew there was nothing to he could do to stop them from capturing him now, but he was a Hamato, and he would not give the Kraang the satisfaction of seeing him give in to despair. With one last desperate snatch at his honor, he reached into the sock of his uninjured foot. Taking a page out of Raph's book, he withdrew a throwing star and sent it hurling directly into the head of the nearest Kraang.

Seeing their companion fall, the remaining robots moved instantly toward Donatello, who struggled vainly against their grasping hands closing around his arms and legs. The next instant, he felt a painful crack to the back of his head and the world went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: One more shout out to the amazing WinterHeath - she did a fantastic picture of Donnie about to be captured by the Kraang in the last chapter. Go check it out on DeviantArt!**

 **And now, prepare for some angst!**

 **Chapter 11:**

"He's not answering!" Raph growled in frustration as he forcefully punched the red button to hang up the phone and shoved it into his pocket.

The three boys were nearly at their destination now. Twilight was falling, and they had once again hidden themselves in an alley, trying to give their wayward brother a chance to catch up. Still he didn't show.

"Why wouldn't he answer?" asked Leo, sounding rather put out. "That's not like Donnie."

"I'm tellin' ya, the punk has _totally_ ditched us!" Raph's voice was sharp with bitterness. "April probably agreed to a date, and he completely forgot about us. He's probably at a restaurant right now, refusing to answer his phone because he doesn't want his romantic moment interrupted."

"No way!" said Mikey punctuating his words with emphatic gestures. "Donnie would never totally bail on us like that! If he's not answering his phone, I'm sure he has a good reason."

"You think something may have happened to him?" asked Leo, picking up on Mikey's unspoken hint.

"I don't know, dude," answered Mikey, glancing back with a worried expression in the direction they expected their brother to appear.

"Well, we'll give him a few more minutes," said Leo, "but if he doesn't contact us soon, we'll have to do this mission without him."

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The first sensations Donatello became aware of were a pounding headache and a painful throbbing in his left ankle. He groaned, keeping his eyes closed as his mind fought to regain consciousness. He was aware of a cold, smooth metal surface at his back, but his equilibrium was off and he could not tell if he was lying on it or standing against it. He tried to move and found that something was restraining him. This trapped feeling caused him to open his eyes in a panic.

The first thing he saw was a group of Kraang droids, many devoid of their human disguises, standing nearby, but none of them were currently looking in his direction, so he had a brief moment in which to take in his surroundings.

He saw that he was strapped to a shiny metal table, of sorts, that was poised at a forty-five degree angle, so that he was halfway between standing and lying down. Several smooth metal bands, made of the same unidentifiable metal alloy as the table, pinned him in place; one around each ankle and wrist, one around his waist, and one around his shoulders. These seamless bands bore no clasp nor hinge of any kind and appeared to be made of one piece with the table. Donnie wondered curiously how they had managed to get him inside them, and more importantly, how he was going to get out. Any attempt to wiggle free demonstrated the absolute immovability of his restraints.

Glancing away from himself, the imprisoned ninja began to inspect the location he was in. Because he could not turn around, he could only see that part of the room that was in front of him, but it was enough to reveal the enormity of the place.

The ceiling was scores of feet above him, and all along the wall within his vision were staircases leading to catwalks on upper levels, all constructed from the same shiny metal alloy, which reflected the light. And there was much light to reflect, for everywhere Donnie could see pink, blue, and purple lights blinking from computer consoles, control panels, and other alien equipment, the use of which he would be delighted to get a chance to study.

The whole place was swarming with Kraang. Many were housed in robot bodies and moved about on the stairways and pressed colorful screens on the control panels. Some were simply the little alien brain blobs whose appearance Donnie had come to loathe, zooming around on their little hovercraft.

He had clearly been brought to the Kraang facility they had been searching for, and by the size of it, Donnie was fairly certain he knew which location it was; the one he had marked Number Four on his map.

One thing in particular drew his attention. Not far away, hooked atop a complex piece of alien machinery, was a vast glass canister, filled with a glowing blue fluid: the synthetic mutagen they had been trying to discover.

Donnie growled. It was maddening to be here at last, in the center of the Kraang's plot, and be completely unable to do anything about it!

The noise he made attracted the attention of the nearby Kraang, who turned to find their prisoner awake. One of the robots turned its glowing pink eyes on Donatello and spoke to him.

"You are one of the ones who were known as the turtles. You have been captured by Kraang and will now be used by Kraang for the testing of Mutagen Five in this place."

Donnie struggled pointlessly against his bonds. Though his overactive brain was working furiously, he could see no way to escape or stop the Kraang from conducting their experiments, but perhaps he could stall them and get them to tell him some of their plans. Trying to keep his voice steady and demanding, he asked, "What was the purpose in creating a synthesized mutagen capable of completing mutations? What are you aliens planning to do with it?"

He wasn't really expecting the Kraang to answer his questions. These aliens were not known for divulging their secret plans.

As expected, the Kraang ignored him. Turning to one of its companions, the robot said, "Kraang is in need of a sample of DNA from the one who has been exposed to Mutagen Five to test if Mutagen Five has been successful in creating a stable mutation."

"Affirmative, Kraang," replied a second bot, producing a small blade and approaching Donnie.

The boy's eyes went wide as he saw the sharp tool in the robot's hand.

"Wait! Hold on, I already conducted experiments with my DNA!" cried Donnie, desperately hoping the Kraang would listen to him. "I can just tell you, the mutation's not stable! I've even calculated the approximate amount of time before – "

But the Kraang paid him no heed. Methodically it approached the table where Donnie was helplessly strapped down. Ripping back his sleeve and placing the blade on his exposed bicep, the droid made a swift movement, slicing across his flesh. Donnie winced in pain and gritted his teeth, but he refused to give the Kraang the pleasure of hearing him cry out. The wound was not deep enough to be dangerous, but the blood began flowing freely down his arm. This was apparently what the Kraang was after, for it began collecting the blood in a curiously shaped glass phial.

Glaring at the robot, Donnie said, "You know, if you need DNA, my spit works just as well."

"Affirmative," replied the robot, finishing its task and moving away from Donnie. "But this is more amusing for Kraang."

Donnie frowned, despising the humiliating thought that he had now become the plaything of the Kraang. While the aliens took his blood and began running tests on it over at one of their complicated machines, the boy was left alone for a few minutes. Despite the aching in his head, the stinging wound on his arm, and the jolts of pain that shot up his injured leg whenever he tried to move, the thing that actually bothered him most at that moment was the trickle of blood running down his arm. It tickled awfully and he was unable to wipe it away.

Thoughts of his brothers filled his mind, and Donnie wondered where they were at that moment. He knew they had been heading toward one of the possible Kraang locations on his map, but what had they done when he hadn't followed them? When he hadn't answered their phone call? He hoped they had figured out something was wrong, but even if they did, how would they possibly know where to look for him?

Donnie shook his head. These thoughts would only lead him to despair. He must focus his attention on the Kraang and try to figure out what they were up to. Perhaps he could discover a way to thwart their plans, even from his helpless position.

As he listened, he heard the Kraang bots discussing the results of his DNA test and stating, in their long winded speech, that the mutation was not stable and that there were mere hours left before his body reverted back to its original form.

Donnie rolled his eyes. ' _I tried to tell you that myself!_ ' he thought. He couldn't help feeling a hint of pride at having discovered it on his own.

"Kraang now possesses the knowledge of that which is incomplete in the formula for Mutagen Five. That mistake will now be remedied by Kraang."

As Donnie watched, several of the robots moved toward the console which was topped with the massive container of Blue Goo and began making adjustments. They were too far away for Donnie to see clearly what they were doing, but he assumed they were changing the formula to create synthesized mutagen potent enough to maintain a stable mutation on first contact.

The imprisoned boy seemed to have been momentarily forgotten. There were no Kraang currently near him. Most were occupied with the mutagen, and several were busy dragging a large object into the building, which Donnie couldn't see well. He was feeling cramped in his current position, and his left ankle was aching worse than ever. He strained pointlessly against his bonds, longing to be free.

With great effort he wrenched his mind once more from the despair of his dire situation, and focused it on the activities the Kraang were involved in. The large object they were dragging was at last brought within his view and he saw that it was a cage, inside which crouched an animal. A dog to be exact, though the mangy mutt was hardly recognizable as such. The Kraang had obviously picked up the half-starved creature from the squalor of the streets. Donnie watched the proceedings with curiosity.

"Bring out the mutagen which has been combined with the DNA of Kraang."

A second canister, equally as large as the one containing the Blue Goo, was rolled into the area. This one was glowing green, obviously filled with regular mutagen. Donnie watched as a small amount of the ooze was loaded into one of the sleek black guns the turtles had been shot with two nights before. The weapon was aimed at the hapless animal, and the next instant it began transforming before Donnie's eyes.

The matted fur disappeared, the skin turned pink and wrinkly, and the dog's front legs began to resemble tentacles. Its eyes grew larger, becoming green and yellow orbs and a second later it was wagging its tentacle-like tail and barking. Donnie stared in horror at the deformed creature. It was a Kraang-dog.

"Now prepare the completed Mutagen Five."

As one Kraang bot began to pour some of the Blue Goo into one of the guns, Donnie noticed another not far away that seemed to be having trouble with its laser gun. It was shaking it around in a strange manner, and suddenly the gun went off, accidentally shooting a laser directly into the weapon loaded with blue mutagen. The Blue Goo instantly exploded, reducing the droid holding it to a lump of twisted metal. Donnie's eyes grew wide. The Blue Goo was combustible? That information could be useful.

Meanwhile the Kraang who had accidentally fired its weapon was receiving a long-winded reprimand, and after things calmed down, the synthesized mutagen was once more loaded into a gun and shot at the Kraang-dog. Within seconds, the bizarre creature was replaced by a Kraang brain, complete in all its squelchy pink alien glory. It immediately began speaking in the weird squealy Kraang language which Donnie suspected was mainly telepathic.

Scanning the new alien with several specialized devices, the droids surrounding it declared the experiment successful.

"The plan of Kraang, which is the plan to mutate the people of the city which is known as New York City, is ready to commence in the unit of time known as now."

Donnie couldn't believe what he was hearing. So that was the plan! They were going to use the two mutagens in conjunction to turn all the people and animals in New York into Kraang! These aliens must be stopped! Donnie strained again, desperately. He must get free! He must warn his brothers!

Suddenly he was aware of a couple of the droids approaching him. One was holding the crackling pink baton and the boy's heart beat faster at the sight of it.

One of the robots addressed him. "Kraang has succeeded in capturing one of the ones who were known as the turtles, but Kraang wishes to obtain all of the ones who were known as the turtles. You know the location of the other ones who were known as the turtles, and you will tell Kraang about that location. If resistance is offered by you, then punishment will be given to you by Kraang." The second droid held up the glowing rod in demonstration of this threat.

Donnie stared at it, wide-eyed. He feared that stick, but he knew he would never tell the Kraang where his brothers were. Why did the aliens want them, anyway? They had successfully created a working mutagen, so they no longer needed the turtles for their experiments. The genius boy puzzled about this, but the Kraang were in no mood to be patient.

"You will tell Kraang the location of the other ones who were known as the turtles," the robot stated again.

Donnie did not respond. In actuality, he did not know precisely where his brothers were at the moment, unless they had gone back to the lair in search of him, and he certainly wasn't going to tell the Kraang _that_ location. Part of him was sure it wouldn't matter anyway. If the Kraang wished to use their new weapon on him, he was powerless to stop them, whether he told them what they wanted to hear or not. Lifting his chin haughtily, he set his jaw and pressed his lips together, indicating his defiance against cooperation.

Donnie wished the robots could display emotion. It would give him satisfaction to know his resistance caused them anger or annoyance, but their faces remained passive as the one with the glowing baton came to stand near Donnie's head.

"Your decision is that which is known as unwise."

The purple-banded ninja squirmed, almost involuntarily, as the robot raised the rod and pressed the end of it into his neck.

Instantly a shock of brutal pain burned through his body. The wand targeted his nervous system directly, so that every single nerve, from the back of his neck to the tips of his fingers and toes felt like it was on fire. So intense was the pain that it threw his body into uncontrollable convulsions, straining at the unrelenting bonds which kept him imprisoned in this place of torment. This time Donnie was unable to pull away and the Kraang was free to hold the rod against his neck as long it chose, sending the shocks of pain radiating through his body in pulsating surges, wave after wave of white hot agony that ripped from his raw throat ear-splitting screams he could barely hear over the throbbing in his head. As the pain penetrated like knives into every aspect of his waking mind, blocking out thoughts of all else, Donnie felt he could not possibly endure it any longer.

At long last the baton was removed from his neck and a wave of relief washed over Donnie. The pain ceased, but his frayed nerves continued to send occasional tremors through his body, causing his arms and legs to twitch. As he opened his eyes and tried to clear his blurred vision, the boy noticed his face was wet from tears he didn't remember shedding. The ordeal had lasted less than thirty seconds, but it had felt an eternity, and had left Donnie feeling weakened and exhausted. With grim despair, he realized that a few more shots of that would render him incapable of escaping, even should the opportunity arise.

The two robots still stood emotionless over their victim, who was panting heavily, trying to regain his breath.

Then the first droid spoke again. "You will tell Kraang the location of the ones who were known as the turtles." It did not elaborate further. Donnie knew what to expect. He took a few panicked breaths in anticipation of the repetition of his torment.

The exchange was interrupted, however, as a familiar ditty began to ring out from the direction of a group of Kraang, not far away. The two standing by Donnie's table turned to look for the source of the sound and saw another Kraang, dressed still in its human suit, withdraw Donnie's T-phone from its pocket. It was ringing gaily, and from his position Donnie could catch a glimpse of Leo's face on the display. A lump caught in his throat. Leo was calling him. He wanted nothing more than to answer that phone call!

The Kraang was staring at the display on the T-phone's screen and spoke to its companions. "One of the ones known as the turtles is attempting to make contact through this communications device."

The robot who had requested Donnie tell them the location of his brothers instantly snatched the phone from the hand of the other and held it, still ringing, in front of Donnie's face.

"You will speak to the ones who were known as the turtles," instructed the Kraang. "You will tell them to come to this place. You will not tell them that Kraang is in this place. You will tell them to come without weapons to this place. If you do not say this message, then punishment will be given to you by Kraang."

Comprehension dawned. So that's why the Kraang wanted his brothers. They were afraid! They knew they had succeeded in capturing Donatello only because they had cornered him all alone. When he and his brothers were fighting all together, they were a force to be reckoned with, and the Kraang knew it. The aliens wanted him to lead his brothers into a trap so they couldn't thwart the Kraang's plans. Donnie smiled to himself. He would tell them to come here, alright, but they would come ready for battle.

The robot pressed the answer key and held the phone to Donnie's ear.

"Leo?" asked Donnie, his voice quivering more than he intended it to.

"Donnie!" cried Leo's voice. It brought Donnie comfort to hear that voice, even though it was yelling at him. "Where the heck are you? We've been waiting for you for ages! Why didn't you answer Raph's call earlier?"

"Leo," Donnie began. He glanced at the pain producing weapon poised at the ready and then quickly looked away, taking a deep breath to give himself courage. "Leo, the Kraang have kidnapped me! They have – "

He was not allowed to go any further. At that second pain consumed him. Through the sound of his own screams he was vaguely aware of Leo's voice, sounding far away, calling his name in a panic. "Donnie! DONNIE!" But soon all his senses were lost. He could no longer hear nor see nor smell. All was agony. Nothing in the world existed but the brutal waves of pain attacking his body. Again. And again. And _again_. His brain screamed out for relief. Oh please! If it would stop! If it would only stop!

Then at last it did stop, and his trembling body was left to gasp for breath through a throat raw from screaming. Gradually the blackness receded from his eyes and the throbbing from his ears and the world came back to his senses. As he lay there, still twitching uncontrollably, tears streaming unbidden down his cheeks, he became aware that he could still hear Leo's voice calling to him. It was further away now, and glancing around, he saw that the droid that was holding his phone had taken a few steps away from him, but the connection was still open. Leo could still hear him if he shouted.

There was something he still needed Leo to know. He had to tell him where he was. His brothers must get here in time, not only to rescue him, but to stop the Kraang's plan. The robot beside him was still holding the merciless rod, crackling with evil energy, and at the sight of it Donnie's courage nearly failed. But he knew the lives of all the people of New York were at stake, so he shoved his fear aside and took a deep breath.

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Leo was standing on the rooftop, staring in horror at his phone. The agonized screams of his younger brother had stabbed directly into his heart. He had never, never heard Donnie in that much pain before. Now the screaming had stopped, but the connection was still open and he began desperately calling Donnie's name again, hoping he could hear him.

What had the Kraang done to him to make him cry out like that? And why had he stopped so abruptly? Leo desperately hoped it was because he had found relief, and not that he had been rendered incapable of screaming. He dared not pursue that thought further and continued to shout into the phone, "Donnie! Donnie!"

All at once, he heard from far away, as if from across a room, the sound of Donatello's voice calling to him. "Number Four, Leo! It's Number Fo-" Once again his brother's words were cut off by agonizing shrieks and Leo screamed into the phone in response.

"DONNIE!"

Then suddenly, the phone went dead. The Kraang had hung up on him, not allowing him to hear the outcome of his brother's misery. He glanced up at his other two brothers with angry tears in his eyes and saw the effect Donnie's screams had had on them.

Raphael's fury had clearly reached a boiling point and he looked like he was ready to murder someone, while Michelangelo looked like he was going to be sick.

"Come on," Leo said, stashing his phone. "We've got to rescue Donnie!"

"But we don't know where he is!" cried Mikey in despair.

"Number Four," said Leo, trying to control his angry breaths and pounding heart. "Donnie said it was Number Four. Raph, where's the map?"

Hastily Raph pulled the city map out of his back pocket and the three boys huddled around it, quickly locating the number four, circled in red. Leo's heart sank. It was on the other side of the city.

"Dude! It'll take us hours to get there!" wailed Mikey.

"Then we better get moving," stated Leo grimly. "Every minute counts."

He bolted toward the fire escape followed closely by his two brothers, who needed no second bidding. Together they began their race across the city, moving as if their brother's life depended on it, which it probably did.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed and favorited my story! I really really appreciate it! Your reviews make me so happy! Enjoy some feels in this chapter!**

 **Chapter 12:**

His breaths came in ragged gasps and his limbs continued to spasm randomly, but Donnie was grateful that he had at last been granted a respite from his torment as his captors left his side to participate in the preparations needed to put their plan into action.

He had succeeded in alerting his brothers to the whereabouts of the Kraang, but he had paid dearly for it. Being very unhappy with the results of the phone conversation, the aliens had ensured their captive had become well acquainted with their torture stick. Now, as they finally moved away from him, he closed his eyes and hoped that the aliens would forget about him, would just leave him alone until his brothers arrived to rescue him. Inhaling deeply, Donnie tried to calm his over-wrought nerves and rest his weary, aching muscles as he longed for the oblivion of sleep to block out the memories of pain.

For a few minutes it seemed that he might get his wish and be left alone. Then he stiffened as he heard two of the Kraang talking to each other about him.

"What will Kraang do with the one who is the prisoner of Kraang, who was once known as one of the turtles?"

"His usefulness is no longer being useful to Kraang. Kraang must secure him in a containment unit until his usefulness is once more determined to be useful by Kraang."

Donnie frowned. He didn't know what sort of containment unit the Kraang were referring to, but whatever it was, it sounded as if it would make the task of rescuing him more difficult. When he opened his eyes, four Kraang bots were standing around him. He trembled slightly at their approach, but kept his face grim, still determined to appear strong before his captors.

The robots reached out their hands and grasped his arms, their metal fingers taking hold in a pincer like grip. The next second a hidden lever was pressed on the underside of the table, and the metal bands restraining him slid fluidly into the surface, disappearing as if they had never been there. Despite his situation, Donatello could not help marveling at this display of technology, and wished to be allowed to study the device more closely. The aliens, however, had other plans, and immediately lifted him off the table and slid him to the ground, maintaining a continual grip on his arms. Donnie stifled a cry as his injured ankle struck the hard floor, and the robots began dragging him off in another direction.

So strong was the fourfold grip on his arms that Donnie knew that, even had he been in possession of his full strength, and had both legs been whole, he would never have been able to free himself from their grasp. Weakened as he was from the repeated nerve attacks, he did not even attempt to struggle free. He knew it would be pointless, and he wished to conserve his remaining energy for escape when his brothers came for him.

As he was being dragged unceremoniously to another part of the facility, Donnie was able to see the entirety of the building for the first time. The center of the vast enclosure was almost entirely occupied by a Kraang ship. This vehicle was slightly smaller than a passenger jet, but its shape was elliptical. It was made mostly of the shiny metal apparently favored by the Kraang, and Donnie caught a glimpse of several windows, glowing pink. The ship was parked on four thin legs, and a hatch on the underside was open. Several Kraang were walking up and down a ramp through the opening. Donnie did not have time to watch them more closely to see what they were up to, for he was then turned around and made to face a different part of the room.

Here he observed several large transparent pink tubes hovering vertically about three feet off the ground. Each tube was about seven feet high and two feet in diameter; the perfect size for containing a human being, Donnie realized with dread. All of them were empty.

As they approached these containment units, one of the droids placed a hand on a nearby control panel and the pink walls of one of the tubes disappeared, leaving only a round metal disk floating in the air at the top and bottom. At this Donatello realized that the tubes were not constructed of glass, as he had at first supposed, but of an energy field. He tried to closely observe the robot who was controlling the containment cell, to understand how it worked, but did not see much before he was lifted forcefully onto the metal platform of the open unit.

He attempted to sit on it, but was forced into a standing position by the unwavering grip on his arms. This proved difficult and painful for Donnie, who was only able to put his weight on his right leg.

Holding him in place, one of the Kraang droids said, "It would be that which is known as unwise to come into contact with that which is known as the energy field."

At that instant, the droid by the control panel touched the blinking screen again and with a hum the pink walls of the containment unit reappeared all around Donnie, just as the robots released their grip on his arms. He swayed slightly as he tried to regain his balance on his one good leg, and the toe of his left shoe accidentally grazed the pink energy in front of him. He quickly jerked it back as the bit of rubber at the front of the shoe melted instantly into a shapeless blob. He gulped and determined not to let any part of him touch the energy field.

This was easier said than done. The walls of his new prison were mere inches from his body on all sides. He could only stand straight, his arms at his sides, to avoid touching them. This would have been difficult enough with two strong legs, but as it was, he knew that maintaining a standing position in his weakened condition, on one leg, with nothing to lean on for support would become a torturous task before any great length of time had passed. He hoped his brothers were not far away.

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Darkness had fallen, and Leo was glad of that, for he and his brothers felt more comfortable in the dark, slipping easily through the shadows as they made their way toward the Kraang facility that was holding their brother prisoner.

The three ninjas had been running for well over an hour and they were only halfway to their destination. Leo had never felt so slow in his life. True, they were all running full out, and were going nearly as fast as they had been able to when they were mutant turtles, but all the while the echoes of his little brother's screams haunted his thoughts, urging him forward, and no speed could possibly be fast enough. Every moment that passed was another moment of torment for Donnie, and Leo couldn't bear to let him suffer one minute longer than what was absolutely unavoidable. There had to be a way to reach him faster!

The boys were racing along the sidewalk of a dark street with few pedestrians. Several cars were zipping past, far outstripping them in speed. If only they had a car! Suddenly a bright yellow one drove by and Leo stopped short. Raph and Mikey nearly ran into him, so unexpected was his halt.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Raph, who was still itching to take his furious revenge on some Kraang bots. Leo caught Mikey quickly flinging some angry tears from his eyes.

"It will take us another hour and a half to get there at this rate," said Leo, frustrated. "We need transportation. I think we should take up Donnie's suggestion from last night."

"What, you mean take a taxi?" asked Mikey, brightening slightly at the prospect.

Raph looked incredulous, but Leo nodded. "We're not on a stealth mission this time. The Kraang already know we're coming and time is of the essence. Need I remind you that our brother is being _tortured_ as we make our way slowly across the city on foot?!"

Raph growled deep in his throat and begrudgingly agreed. "Fine. Anything to get us there faster."

Curious and excited, Mikey did the honors of hailing a cab and a moment later the three of them had piled into the back seat.

"Drive as fast as you can!" Raph told the taxi driver shortly.

The driver, a rather unkempt looking fellow, lazily chewing on a piece of gum, raised an eyebrow at him. "Where to?"

"What?" asked Raph.

"What's the address? Where do you want to go?" the cabby asked, annoyed.

"Oh, sorry," said Leo, and told him the name of the street.

The cab pulled away from the curb and began moving down the street, much too slowly for the ninjas in the back seat.

"Um, could you go any faster?" asked Leo. "We're _really_ in a hurry!"

The bored driver rolled his eyes at them, but he pressed his foot to the pedal, and for several blocks they sped along, covering a good chunk of the city in a much shorter time than they had anticipated. This brought Leo some relief. He could feel Mikey beside him, emotionally torn between the excitement of riding in a taxi and the worry he felt for his captive brother. Raphael glared out the window at the city passing by, drumming his fingers impatiently. Although they were now moving faster, it irked him to be sitting still, simmering in his wrath, rather than releasing it in battle against the Kraang.

Despite their increased speed, Leonardo could not stop his imagination from creating worst case scenarios, and as they drove through the city image after image forced its way into his mind, each more bloody and horrifying than the last, and all the while he could hear his brother screaming and see his brown eyes, wide with fear and pain, begging Leo to rescue him. Leonardo clutched his head in his hands and moaned, trying to block out the disturbing pictures. _It needn't be that bad_ , he tried to convince himself. They didn't actually know yet what was happening to Donnie. But he could not shake the feelings of dread and urgency.

When they were still a few miles from their destination, they entered a busy street which was packed with cars. Joining the traffic jam, the taxi slowed nearly to a standstill.

"What's _this_?" shouted Raph. "Are we just going to _sit_ here?"

"There's always traffic on this street," drawled the driver. "We'll be stuck here for a while."

Raph grunted and turned to Leo. "How close are we?"

"Only a few miles."

"Then let's forget this and go the rest of the way on foot!"

Leo instantly agreed and they opened the door to exit the car, right in the middle of the street.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" cried the cabby.

"We're in a hurry!" explained Leo. "We're going to run the rest of the way."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" The man grabbed Leo's arm, preventing him from following his brothers into the street. "What about my pay?"

"Oh, sorry," Leo said, having completely forgotten that taxis cost money. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of bills, and hoping it was enough, shoved them into the driver's hands and rushed out into the night.

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Donnie was trembling with the effort of standing on one foot. He had not been able to keep a precise track of time, but he was sure it had been more than an hour since he had been placed in the cell. The muscles in his leg were cramping, and without thinking, he attempted to shift his weight, his breath catching in his throat as the pressure was applied to his broken ankle. His whole body ached and he longed to lean on something. To sit. To lie down. A vision of his bed at home flitted before his eyes and he wished nothing more than to crawl into it and ease his sore muscles. His eyes closed. _If only. . ._

No! He snapped his eyes open again. He must stay alert. One slip and he could lose a finger, or an arm, or worse. To distract his mind, he focused once more on the Kraang. From his position in the containment cell, he had a grand view of the entire facility, though everything seemed to be tinted pink as he looked through the energy field.

He could see the Kraang loading the two large canisters of mutagen onto the ship. They were preparing to fly it over the city, shooting everyone in sight with first the green, and then the blue mutagen. If the aliens had their way, the whole city would be filled with Kraang before the week was out.

Suddenly Donnie felt the fingers in his right hand tingle, and soon his whole arm was numb with the familiar sensation of his unstable mutation. A moment later, the feeling returned to his arm, but a numbness of fear had come over his heart. These tingling episodes were happening more frequently. What if his right leg was next? What would happen if he suddenly lost control of the one limb that was keeping him in his upright position? He dared not think about it. And then a worse idea crossed his mind. He knew he was nearing the end of the time allotted to him to be human. What would happen if he started to mutate back into a turtle while in the containment unit? Remembering the violence of his last mutation, Donnie knew that maintaining a standing position through such a process was a complete impossibility.

Despair threatened to consume him as the muscles in his leg twitched, desperate for release. Squeezing his eyes shut, he focused his mind on the hopeful image of his brothers running to his rescue as a single tear slipped beneath his mask and trickled down his cheek.

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At long last, Leo led his brothers around a corner and the Kraang's headquarters came into view. It was an enormous building made mostly of concrete, with no windows. A huge door, fifty feet high and twice as wide, somewhat resembling an over sized garage door, took up most of the front of the building, but Leo paid little attention to it. He was focused on the ordinary sized door around the corner, through which he saw a Kraang droid enter the building. The door did not appear to be locked.

Silent as shadows, the three ninjas crept to the entrance. As it turned out, there was a keypad with a code required for entering, but a few stabs with Raph's sai and the lock broke, allowing the door to swing wide.

They stepped inside and took in the scene at a glance – the large ship in the middle of the room, the countless pieces of alien equipment scattered about, and the swarms of Kraang droids moving everywhere like bees in a hive.

"Where's Donnie?" asked Raph in a low voice, as the aliens had not yet been made aware of their presence.

Scanning his eyes more carefully through the room, Leo finally spotted the hovering cells glittering with pink energy. Inside one he could just make out the form of his brother, but he was too far away to see if he was injured. "There!" he pointed.

Raphael felt the familiar smolder of anger in his chest rise to a full blown flame as he saw his brother thus imprisoned. He growled in determination, tightening his grip on his sai. The Kraang would learn this night that, turtles or not, you do _not_ mess with the Hamato family!

"Raph, you and Mikey look for the Blue Goo. I'll get Donnie." Leo was already moving in the direction of his captured brother, but turned for one more word. "And Raph?"

Raph turned to look at him.

"Destroy as many Kraang as you can!"

Raph smiled grimly at him. "With pleasure!" And he and Mikey instantly leaped forward to wreak their vengeance on a group of the surprised aliens as Leo rushed off to rescue Donnie.

As he came closer, Leo saw his imprisoned brother look up, relieved, as he caught sight of him. There was quite a number of Kraang droids surrounding the containment cells, but his little brother needed him, and Leo knew that nothing was going to be able to stop him now. With an angry shout he charged the robots who were unable to withstand the vengeful fire of his wrath.

Donnie watched in eager anticipation of relief as he saw his oldest brother making his way towards him. Katanas singing, Leo fluidly took down Kraang bots as he moved until there were no more standing in the immediate vicinity. Donnie's leg was shaking now and he doubted whether he could maintain a standing position much longer. A moment later Leo was standing before him, horror and concern filling his features as he perceived the pitiful state his brother was in.

"Donnie!" he cried, reaching a hand toward him.

"Don't touch the energy field!" shouted Donnie.

Leo immediately withdrew his hand. "How do I get you out of there?"

"The control panel. Over there." Donnie nodded his head to indicate the direction. Leo leaped toward it and began to inspect the panel. Donnie attempted once again the futile action of shifting his weight, only to bite down hard on his lip as the pain shot up his broken leg once more. ' _Oh, Leo, be quick!_ ' he thought.

"Donnie, I don't know what to do!" came Leo's panicky voice. "There aren't any buttons to press!"

Donatello closed his eyes and tried to focus on not falling over as he shouted. "It's touch sensitive. Use one of the robot's hands!"

He saw Leo frantically look around for one of the robots he had destroyed, grab the nearest one, and drag it toward the control panel. As Leo pressed the droid's hand to the blinking surface, he was relieved to see the energy shield power down. An instant later, Donnie collapsed into his brother's arms.

"Donnie! What did they do to you, Otouto? Where are you hurt?" Leo asked desperately. He moved his fingers gingerly over the stream of dried blood that ran down Donnie's arm, but the wound at its source did not appear to be deep and was no longer bleeding.

"My legs," Donnie mumbled. "My. . . everywhere. It hurts. Oh, Leo, it hurts so _bad_!" He clutched at Leo and buried his face in his shoulder. His big brother had come for him, just as he had known he would. Leo wrapped his arms tighter around his trembling brother, holding him close and whispering Japanese words of comfort in his ear as they sat together on the floor, the sounds of battle echoing distantly around them.

Donnie felt safe in his brother's embrace, and as he breathed in, trying to calm his nerves and release some of the pain, he noticed that, despite the mutation, Leo still smelled the same. Tears sprang to Donnie's eyes as inhaling that scent brought back so many comforting childhood memories when his big brother's strong arms had held him and chased away the nightmares. For a moment he was tempted to sob into Leo's shoulder like he had done so often when they were young, but he knew this time he could not have that luxury. They still had a city to save. Breathing deeply once more, he drew comfort and strength from his older brother. Then, opening his eyes and lifting his head, he said determinedly, "Help me over to that computer console, Leo."

 **A/N: Hope you liked the brotherly comfort at the end there! Next chapter is the last one, so stick around for the climactic ending!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks once again to all my awesome reviewers, and most especially to InsaneDutchGirl and ChloeTheCriticCat who always leave such amazingly detailed reviews. You are so encouraging! So without further ado, please enjoy the end of the story!**

 **Final Chapter:**

Placing one arm under Donnie's knees, and one behind his back, Leo lifted him gently in his strong arms and carried him toward the computer system he had indicated, not far away.

"What's wrong, Donnie?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. "Why can't you walk?"

"My ankle's broken," Donnie mumbled through clenched teeth, clinging to Leo's neck and wincing as his brother unwittingly jostled the injury in question.

They had reached the high-tech piece of machinery and Leo kicked a large wooden crate in front of it for Donnie to sit on. Carefully, he lowered his brother onto it.

Reaching out a hand to steady himself against the console, Donatello tried not to allow Leo to notice how much he was still trembling. His brother could worry about him later. Right now they had a mission to complete.

"Let me take a look at that," Leonardo said, kneeling down and reaching toward Donnie's injured leg.

"No!" said Donnie firmly. "We don't have time. We have to stop the Kraang!" And he quickly explained to Leo what he knew of the Kraang's plan.

Leo looked over at the massive ship. "So, we need to destroy that before it takes off?"

Donnie nodded.

"And what are you doing?" Leo waved a hand in the direction of the computer Donnie was sitting at.

"I'm going to hack into the Kraang's system and corrupt all the files on 'Mutagen Five' so they won't be able to recreate it. Now, go!" He shoved Leo in the direction of the battle taking place between their brothers and the Kraang, almost directly beneath the ship.

"You sure you'll be OK?" Leo asked with big-brother concern, observing Donnie's pale face and shaking limbs. He knew he had a duty to perform, but his brothers' well-being took precedence in his mind. Every single time.

"I'll be fine. Raph and Mikey need you!"

Not satisfied, Leo leaned down to retrieve a laser gun from one of the fallen robots nearby. He handed it to Donnie, saying, "Just in case any Kraang try to give you trouble while I'm not around."

Donnie smiled. "Thanks!"

Leo turned to rejoin his brothers, but Donnie called after him once more.

"Oh, Leo! I almost forgot. You should know, the Blue Goo is highly combustible."

Leo smiled. "Excellent." Then he turned, leaving Donatello at the machine to do what he did best.

As the blue-banded ninja raced to join the fight, he could see Raph and Mikey battling several Kraang bots at once. Both seemed to be enjoying the battle, grinning through their adrenaline rush as they swung their weapons at bot after bot, taking their revenge on the alien scum who had dared to hurt their brother. They were standing back to back, each protecting the other, and Leo was pleased to see how quickly they had adapted their fighting style to compensate for their new vulnerability.

Leo kept an eye on his brothers as he leaped over a control panel and sliced through two Kraang droids on his way to reach them. He saw Mikey take out a robot with his nunchuks, then, to Leo's alarm, the orange-banded ninja suddenly stumbled and fell to his knees. Leo was too far away to do anything yet, but he heard Mikey cry out, "Raph! My leg's asleep!"

Instantly Raph was standing over his brother, slicing up a robot that would have otherwise taken advantage of Mikey's momentary disability. A moment later, Mikey said, "OK, it's good now!" Raph helped his brother to his feet with one hand, while stabbing the face of a droid with the other. Leo watched this exchange with brotherly pride. Perhaps they could learn to fight as humans, after all.

By this time Leo had come up alongside his brothers.

"Leo!" called Raph, kicking one of the aliens clean out of its robot body. "Where's Donnie?"

"He's hacking into the Kraang's computer system."

Raph grinned. "Of course he is."

"No sign of the Blue Goo, yet, though," Mikey informed Leo as he snatched a laser gun from a fallen droid and used the weapon to blow up the head of another.

"I know." Leo's blades sliced a droid in two and the brain went squealing away across the floor. "It's in the ship." He pointed to the large aircraft above them.

"All of it?"

"Yeah. The Kraang are going to use it to turn all the people of New York into Kraang!"

"What?" cried Raph, stabbing his sai through a robot's eye. "How do we stop them?"

"We need to blow up that ship before it takes off!" Two more Kraang fell crumpled at Leo's feet.

"How?"

"Donnie says the Blue Goo is highly combustible. If we shoot it with a laser gun, it should explode."

"I'm on it!" cried Mikey, suddenly leaping out of the fray and running toward the ship.

At that moment, however, the massive ship suddenly hummed to life. The ramp leading into it was removed, though the hatch remained open, and the four support legs folded up into the underside of the ship. The aircraft hovered for a moment before slowly beginning to rise into the air. At the same time, the enormous garage door began to slide open in order to allow the ship access to the city.

Mikey turned back to his brothers in a panic. "What do we do now?"

Leo did not lose his cool for a moment. "Mikey, do you think you could jump into that open hatch, if Raph and I launch you?"

Mikey glanced up at the opening in the underbelly of the ship, which was gradually rising higher into the air. He turned back to Leo with a grinning thumbs up. "No problemo, bro!"

Leo nodded to Raph and the two of them assumed a crouching position, facing each other. They interlaced their fingers, creating a cradle between them, while Mikey took a few steps backward.

"Now, Mikey!" cried Leo.

The orange-banded ninja took a running leap, landed in his brothers' cupped hands, and just as they threw him into the air, he jumped with all his might. The combined strength of all three brothers worked to send Mikey flying high above their heads. Grasping the edge of the open hatch with his fingers, the boy hauled himself aboard the slowly rising ship.

On the other side of the room, Donnie was smiling as the purple screen in front of him displayed exactly what he was hoping for. Pressing a few more buttons, he suddenly threw his fist into the air, shouting, "Yes! I did it!"

His jubilee was interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned to find two Kraang droids coming towards him.

"It is the one who was known as the prisoner of Kraang. The prisoner of Kraang has escaped from Kraang and is attempting to thwart the plans of Kraang. The prisoner of Kraang must be stopped by Kraang."

"Not this time!" cried Donnie vengefully, lifting the gun from his lap and firing. The first droid fell broken at his feet. "Ha!" he shouted with satisfaction, shooting the second robot in like manner. It was impossible to tell one Kraang droid from another, but it gave Donnie pleasure to think that these were the two who had caused him so much pain with their torture stick.

Nunchuks twirling, Mikey had leaped through the open hatch of the Kraang ship and succeeded in taking down the three robots who had been surrounding the opening almost before they had a chance to notice his presence. Now he looked around among the confusing pink and purple blinking lights for the Blue Goo. If all of it was aboard the ship, as Leo had said, then there must be hundreds of jars of it. It would be a piece of cake to snatch one to take home with him before destroying the rest.

Noticing a bluish-green glow coming through an open doorway just ahead, Mikey ducked through it and stopped short. On the other side of the doorway were two immense glass canisters, nearly twenty feet high, one swirling with a green liquid, the other with blue. Mikey just stared at them. He had been expecting portable canisters of Blue Goo, something he could grab and take back to the lair. Looking at the massive tube in front of him however, he knew at once that it would take him ages to find a way to safely steal any of it and bring it back to his brothers, and by then it would be too late to save the city. There was simply no time. But if he shot that giant container, _all_ of the Blue Goo would explode and he would lose his last chance to remain human.

Time seemed to slow as the emotions whirled through Mikey's chest. He thought of his exciting day at school, the friends he had made, and all the things on his list he still hadn't done yet. He felt angry tears prick his eyes at the unfairness of the choice he had to make. He had been so sure that they would manage to take some Blue Goo _and_ defeat the Kraang. Glancing down at his hands holding his nunchaku, his human hands which he so desperately wanted to keep, he nearly lost his resolve. But he knew his decision was already made.

Gritting his teeth, Mikey scowled at two Kraang who had noticed his intrusion and were moving toward him. With one violent swoop, he felled them both and snatched one of the laser guns from their hands.

Then he ran back toward the open hatch, taking down two more bots on the way. Standing right next to the opening, he swallowed the lump in his throat and aimed his gun with a determined air back through the doorway where he could still see the glowing blue fluid just beyond. With an almighty cry of "BOOYAKASHA!" he leaped backward through the hatch, pulling the trigger at the same time.

Mikey was halfway to the floor when the entire building shook with a rumbling explosion, and the Kraang ship veered to one side, spurting flames and black smoke out of one end, taking with it his very last hope of a normal life. Mikey felt strong arms catch him and set him on his feet as Raph's voice said, "Ya did good, bro."

Then they were running together toward the other end of the building, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the crashing ship, which continued to let off explosions, setting off a chain reaction of fires throughout the high-tech machinery around the room. Mikey was suddenly aware that Leo had joined them and that they were heading toward the place where Donnie was still sitting at a computer.

Mikey wondered for a moment why Donnie didn't leap up and join them, but as he saw Leo rush to him and lift him into his arms, Mikey realized his brother was hurt. He didn't have much time to reflect on that, though, because the explosions around them necessitated that they make a hasty exit. The few remaining Kraang were in a panic and ignored the ninjas as they rushed through the half open garage door.

A massive explosion rocked the ground just as they made it safely out of the building. Without looking back, Leo led them a few blocks away to an alley, half illuminated by the light of a street lamp. They could hear the sirens of fire trucks not far away, but Leo knew they wouldn't be spotted here.

With Raph's help, Leo gently lowered Donnie to the ground, leaning his back against a wall.

"Now," said Leo, "let's take a look at that leg." Carefully he loosened the laces of Donnie's shoe as much as he could, and with great care he began to slip it off his brother's foot while his other brothers watched, their faces etched with concern.

Despite Leo's careful gentleness, Donnie still let out a whimper as the shoe was removed, followed by the sock. Raph scooted closer to him and put an arm around his shoulders, giving him a hand to squeeze. Mikey glanced curiously at Raph's display of tenderness, and wondered if he felt bad for assuming the worst of Donnie when he hadn't shown up for the mission earlier.

Leo cradled the injured ankle in his hand as he pulled a bandage out of his pocket. Donnie glanced down at his ankle and saw it was black and blue and swollen to nearly twice its normal size. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath as occasional residual tremors still shuddered their way through his body.

"OK, Donnie," Leo said. "I'm going to wrap it tightly so that it won't move around too much on our way home. Once we're there we can set the bone properly."

Nodding his consent, Donnie set his jaw as Leo began the process.

"Donnie," Leo asked hesitantly, "Is this what the Kraang were doing when we heard you – you know – over the phone?"

Donnie opened his eyes and shook his head. "No," he said softly. "No, it was the - the metal rod - that - that Mikey told us about – " He spoke haltingly. "They - they pressed it to my neck and – " His breath caught in his throat and he found he could not bring himself to say any more as the memories of his nightmare experience flooded his mind.

Mikey patted Donnie's leg sympathetically. "Say no more, bro. I know what that thing does."

Raph gave his brother's shoulders a rough but reassuring squeeze, which Donnie understood to mean he didn't have to talk about the ordeal right now if he didn't want to. Words of comfort had never been Raph's strong suit, but the sentiment was there.

Donnie nodded in response, then suddenly took a quick intake of breath as a pain shot up his leg, despite Leo's best efforts at tenderness.

"Oh, sorry, Donnie!" apologized Leo as his brother turned and hid his face in Raph's shoulder with a moan. "I'm nearly done." He tied off the bandage, and then quickly wrapped one around the wound in Donnie's upper arm, as well, although the cut had long since ceased bleeding on its own.

After Leo was satisfied there were no more injuries, they were at last ready to continue. Raph and Mikey helped Donnie onto Leo's back where he wrapped his arms around his older brother's neck and prepared for the journey home. His nervous system seemed to be recovering at last, for he was no longer trembling so much, and he found he was able to maintain a firm hold.

The boys ran as fast as they could for several miles, Leo doing his best to run smoothly so as not to jostle his brother's injured leg too much. Despite his best efforts, however, Donnie kept whimpering and hiding his face in the back of Leo's neck. On top of this, the blue-banded ninja was experiencing those strange tingling sensations more frequently. The third time it happened, it was in his right foot, and he stumbled, causing Donnie to cry out and cling to him more tightly.

"Sorry, Donnie," Leo apologized, regaining his balance. "My leg went numb again."

He called a halt and they all ducked into a nearby dark alley, surrounded by abandoned buildings and occupied by nothing but a dumpster and some graffiti. He gently lowered Donnie to the ground, and his purple-banded brother leaned against the rough brick wall of the alley, eyes closed and teeth clenched.

Raph stood with his hands on his hips, looking at their leader. "Why are we stopping?" he asked. "We're still miles from home!"

"We need a break, Raph," said Leo, resting his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath, then, noticing the incredulous look on his brother's face, he clarified, " _I_ need a break. And Donnie's in pain. We can't push him too hard. Plus, I keep getting – " He was about to mention the increasing periods of numbness when he suddenly noticed the expression on Mikey's face. His youngest brother had hardly spoken a word since they left the Kraang facility, and now Leo thought he looked like he was going to cry. "Mikey, what's wrong?"

"Nothin'," mumbled Mikey, shoving his hands in his pockets and kicking a discarded soda can in a way that meant the opposite of nothing.

"Mikey. . ." began Leo, stepping toward his brother.

The usually cheerful boy looked up, his blue eyes swimming with tears. "I was supposed to meet Justin and Ryan at the skate park tomorrow afternoon!" he suddenly blurted out. "We were going to hang out and go skateboarding, and they were going to be my friends, and now I won't get to do any of that, and they'll think I didn't want to be their friend!" The tears spilled over and stained his mask before trickling down his freckled cheeks.

"Oh, Mikey," Leo reached for him, but Raph was quicker.

Putting an arm around his baby brother's shoulders, he said in a sincere tone, "You were really brave back there, Mikey."

Mikey sniffed and looked up at his brother.

"Honestly," Raph continued, "blowing up that canister of Blue Goo when you knew it was the only one. You saved the city, Mikey. You made the right choice."

Mikey nodded and seemed to be somewhat encouraged by his brother's affirmation.

Suddenly Donnie's voice came from the shadows near the ground. "Guys, do you feel that, too?" He was holding his hands in front of him. "Both of my arms are all tingly and numb. Oh, and my legs, too!"

"Mine, too!" cried Mikey. "Oh no! It's starting, isn't it? We're changing back!"

"I think you're right, Mikey," Leo said nervously. His legs started to give way and he knelt down beside Donnie, grabbing his brother's hand as the two of them prepared as best they could for the unavoidable mutation.

"No! I don't want to! _I don't want to!_ Raph, help!" Mikey was panicking and clutched at Raph, hiding his face in his big brother's chest.

Raph wanted to comfort Mikey, to tell him it would be OK, but he knew it wasn't OK, and he didn't know what else to say to his frightened little brother. So he let his strong arms speak for themselves as he wrapped them tightly around his brother and gently pulled him down to a sitting position. He was powerless to prevent the mutation, but he could at least ensure his baby brother did not have to go through it alone this time. He held Mikey close, determined not to let him go, no matter what happened.

Mikey closed his eyes, trembling as the cold numbness spread over his body. Any second now, he knew. . . Searing pain shot down Mikey's spine and he cried out, burying his face deeper into Raph's chest, trying to block out the pain and muffle the cries and groans of agony coming from his brothers a few feet away. He shook and writhed uncontrollably, unable to contain the screams, clinging to Raph as to a bulwark through the storm.

Raphael steeled himself against the pain, willing himself to be strong for the sake of his little brother. Despite his own suffering, he never slackened his protective grip around Michelangelo.

At long last the torment ended and relief swept through Mikey's trembling body. He nuzzled his face against the familiar smoothness of Raph's plastron as strong hands rubbed the back of his shell soothingly.

"It's alright, Little Brother," came a gruff but comforting voice in his ear. "It's over now. It's all over."

Mikey opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. They were his own again. He stared at the familiar green fingers for a moment before pressing himself deeper into Raph's embrace and bursting into tears.

Leo stood up and stretched, flexing his muscles. Being a human had certainly been an interesting adventure, but if he was honest with himself, he was glad to be back in his own body again. He glanced down at Donatello and saw his olive green face was pale. Both his fists were clenched and he was breathing heavily. Clearly the mutation had been hardest on Donnie, who was still dealing with the pain of his broken ankle.

Donnie looked down at himself, taking in the familiar sight of his lanky green arms and legs, his three fingered hands, his smooth shell. He was a mutant again. A quivering sigh escaped his throat. Deep down, he felt that he had known all along that it couldn't last, and he had to come to terms with that.

"Come on, Donnie, let's get you home," Leo said, gently lifting his injured brother onto his back and gesturing for the other two to follow.

Swiftly and silently the ninjas moved through the shadows. They were outcasts once more, and could not risk being seen. Yet they knew, hidden underground was their own safe haven, filled with welcoming warmth and love. And their father was waiting for them.

FINIS

 **A/N: I hope you like the way everything turned out in the end! Thanks to all of you who stuck with me through this story. Drop me a review because I'd love to know what you think!**


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